Man charged with killing IMPD officer Breann Leath found guilty but mentally ill

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A man charged with killing an Indianapolis police officer was found guilty but mentally ill Friday.

Elliahs Dorsey, 31, of Indianapolis, was convicted of killing Metropolitan Police Department Officer Breann Leath in 2020 while she responded to a domestic violence call.

The jury, after 15 hours of deliberations over two days, also found Dorsey guilty but mentally ill in the attempted murder of three other officers who were not injured and the attempted murder and criminal confinement of Dorsey’s girlfriend at the time, Aisha Brown, whom he shot in a hallway when she tried to flee.

Dorsey’s defense attorneys argued that he was not guilty by reason of insanity. They told jurors his mental health had deteriorated and he woke up the morning of the shooting convinced that his family was dead and there was a plot against his life.

When officers knocked on the door of the apartment, Dorsey's lawyers said, he believed they were assassins there to kill him.

Leath’s mother, Jennifer Leath, said after the verdict that “It’s not what we wanted, but she’ll finally get some justice.”

Last month a judge granted the state's motion to dismiss death penalty charges after doctors found Dorsey to be mentally ill.

“The jury found the defendant guilty but mentally ill. A conviction of guilty but mentally ill requires a sentence in prison in this case," the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement Friday evening. 

“We want to thank the Leath Family for their dignity and grace throughout an unimaginably difficult time. Officer Leath was a beloved mother, daughter, sister, friend, and colleague. Officer Leath devoted her life to service and fulfilled her childhood dream of becoming a police officer. Her compassion was unmatched and the impact she had on our community, particularly the youth, will live on.”

Mayor Joe Hogsett also released a statement following the verdict.

"Officer Breann Leath was a shining light who represented the best of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, and her murder was a loss for our entire community," Hogsett said. "I hope this verdict brings some sense of peace and closure to her family, her young son, and the men and women who serve our city."

WFYI contributed to this report.