Man convicted of murder in fatal stabbing in Indy 2022

INDIANAPOLIS – A man has been convicted of murder in connection with a fatal 2022 stabbing in south Indianapolis, the Marion County District Attorney's Office announced Wednesday.

Christopher Rawlings was found guilty of Aaron Flora's death after a two-day jury trial, prosecutors said. At the end of the trial, he pleaded guilty to the enhanced penalty for habitual offenders.

The incident was reported around 1:15 a.m. on Monday, August 29, 2022, in the 2900 block of Brill Road, northwest of East Troy and Madison Avenue. Officers found 23-year-old Flora, who had been stabbed. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Prosecutors said Flora was with friends at a house where he repaired cars and mopeds. He was in a shed with Rawlings and a woman when “the woman asked Rawlings if she had a minute to speak to Flora alone. Rawlings acknowledged her and quickly began stabbing Flora in the neck with a knife,” prosecutors said.

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Flora left the shed and people inside the house called for help. Rawlings fled the scene before police arrived.

Detectives found a knife with blood on the blade near the crime scene. Video footage from a home surveillance camera shows Rawlings going into the shed with the knife after the stabbing and escaping over a fence, prosecutors said, adding that several witnesses identified Rawlings as the suspect.

Online court records show that Rawlings' sentencing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on October 9.

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