Marion County man convicted of August 2022 knife murder

INDIANAPOLIS– A Marion County man was convicted of murdering Aaron Flora in August 2022.

Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said Wednesday morning that Christopher Rawlings was convicted after a two-day jury trial.

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On August 29, 2022, Flora and some of his friends were at a house on Brill Road where Flora was helping a friend fix both cars and mopeds. Flora, another woman and Rawlings were in a shed behind the house. The woman asked Rawlings if she could speak to Flora alone. Rawlings acknowledged her and quickly began stabbing Flora in the neck with a knife.

According to police, Flora left the shed and people began to help him while screaming for help, but Rawlings was able to escape before police arrived.

When police arrived on scene, they found a folding knife with blood on the blade. They also used video footage from the home's security cameras that showed Rawlings going into the shed with a knife in his hand. Police said the video showed Rawlings running out and then jumping over a fence.

Several witnesses were able to identify Rawlings.

“I commend our assistant district attorneys for doing everything humanly possible to ensure that the eyewitnesses in this case were able to participate in the trial – and ultimately achieved justice for Mr. Flora, who lost his life in a completely senseless act,” Mears said.