Michael Wayne Thomas has been a person of interest since Julie Mitchell, 34, was beaten to death in her Oklahoma City home 14 years ago

Thomas, 54, a former insurance salesman shot himself on a live video call during police interview on Saturday morning

On November 2, 2010, police found Julie Mitchell stuffed in the closet of the master bedroom with $30,000 missing from the nearby safe and her one-year-old daughter sitting next to her body

Thomas was an associate of Julie’s husband Teddy Mitchell in an illegal gambling business, but Mitchell was on a plane to California at the time of his wife’s murder

Previously interviewed up to six times by police and the FBI, Thomas maintained his innocence, despite his company checkbook being found in the victim’s house

Oklahoma City Police, had negotiated another , interview with Thomas on Saturday, during which he shot himself with the other parties online, watching

Unbeknownst to his lawyer and police, Thomas was transmitting from the woods outside a Casino in Mulvane, Kansas, where his body was found  

Murder suspect Michael Wayne Thomas, [photo], suddenly shot himself dead during a video interview with police on Saturday. He was been interviewed in the death of Julie Mitchell in November 2010

Former insurance agent Michael Wayne Thomas, 54, has been a person of interest since Julie Mitchell was beaten to death in her Oklahoma City home, aged 34, on November 2, 2010. On Saturday Thomas a person of interest in the high profile 14-year-old cold case murder suddenly shot himself dead in the middle of a video interview with police.
Responding officers found Julie Mitchell stuffed in the closet of her master bedroom with $30,000 missing from the nearby safe. Her one-year-old daughter was sitting next to her body when cops arrived. 
The man eventually believed to be responsible, Michael W. Thomas, was known to the family.
Infact he was an associate of Julie’s husband Teddy Mitchell, in his illegal gambling operation.
Teddy Mitchell was on a plane to California at the time of Julie’s murder.
Between police and the FBI Thomas was interviewed up to six times, but he consistently denied involvement in the murder, despite his company checkbook being found in the her house.
However, 14 years later Oklahoma City Police negotiated another interview with Thomas on Saturday.

Julie Mitchell [photo], 34, was found was beaten to death in the master bedroom of her Oklahoma City home on November 2, 2010, with $30,000 missing from the nearby safe

After initially agreeing, Thomas he reportedly changed his mind and negotiated a virtual interview with his lawyer Ed Blau also on the video call.
‘Beggars can’t always be choosers, and this is somebody we wanted to talk to, we needed to talk to. There were questions we needed to have answered by him,’ Master Sergeant Gary Knight said.
‘He chose to pull out a pistol and shoot himself, ending his life.’
From the moment the call started at 10am, Thomas wouldn’t let the police get a word in, constantly rambling about nothing helpful.
‘He didn’t give me an opportunity to ask him any questions. He controlled the conversation from start to finish,’ Detective Bryn Carter said.
‘At about 40 minutes through the interview, he produced a firearm and took his own life.
‘In 31 years on the police department doing hundreds of hundreds of interviews, I’ve never had anyone commit suicide in front of me.’ 

Teddy Mitchell [photo], was on a plane to California at the time of his wife’s murder. The suspect Michael Wayne Thomas was Teddy’s associate

The shocked detectives and lawyer watched Thomas shoot himself, then collapse and his phone clatter to the ground. 
‘The phone landed right by his head so we got to hear him die, hear the death rattle. It was as shocking and horrific as you can imagine,’ Blau said.
Blau said Thomas told them ‘I’m just worried about my daughter’s safety’ just before he shot himself, and ‘I really hope you solve the case’. 
Police refused to release any part of the interview, or any officer’s reports pertaining to it or why Thomas was being interviewed yet again. 
Thomas’ body was found in woods outside the Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane, near Witchita, Kansas, where Blau didn’t know he was until after his death. 
Thomas, then an insurance salesman, was intimately involved in Mitchell’s life due to their mutual interest in gambling.
Julie’s murder exposed the illegal underground high-stakes poker games Mitchell was running out of their home, along with unlawful sport betting.

The death of Julie Mitchell [right], exposed the illegal underground high-stakes poker games Teddy Mitchell, [left], was running out of their home, along with unlawful sport betting

Thomas told the FBI in 2011 he played in Mitchell’s games and placed bets with him, racking up debts so big he let Mitchell become a partner in his insurance business as a means of settling them.
He also provided the insurance to Mitchell’s properties and vehicles.
Police said Mitchell who has maintained his innocence, was never ruled out of their investigation. Ultimately, he was convicted in 2014 for federal conspiracy to commit money laundering, and forced to turn over $1 million in property to the government. He served a 27-month prison sentence for running the illegal gambling operation
Addressing Thomas choosing to end his life rather than face probe, lead detective Carter said: ‘Him taking his own life without answering the questions that I needed answered to eliminate him as a person interest. It speaks volumes that maybe he couldn’t answer those questions.’
Thomas is still considered a suspect in the case after his death.