12/31/2022
Rawnews1st – Sydney Sutherland, 24, was abducted, raped, and murdered while jogging near her Jackson County, Arkansas home.
A local farmer, Quake Lewellyn, confessed to hitting her with his pickup, abusing her corpse, before burying her in a rice field.
At approximately 7:00 p.m., a missing person’s report was filed with the Jackson County Arkansas Sheriff’s Department. The report stated that Sydney Sutherland had gone for a run that afternoon and had not yet returned.
Investigators immediately launched an extensive search. The following morning, hundreds of members of the local and outlying community joined law enforcement in the search efforts.
On the afternoon of August 20, 2020, Sutherland’s cell phone was found 1.3 miles from her residence. One farmer, Quake Lewellyn, stated that he had driven by Sutherland but couldn’t offer any further details.
When investigators looked at Quake Lewellyn, they discovered his cell phone pinged in the same area where Sydney’s cell phone was discovered.
They determined Lewellyn to be a person of interest and investigated his where he traveled. His phone pinged 2.36 miles away from where Sutherland’s phone had been located. When police went to the area where Quake’s phone pinged, they found Sydney’s remains.
The medical examiner ruled Sydney Sutherland’s cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries, which was consistent with being struck by a vehicle. Sydney Sutherland’s death was determined to be a homicide.
Quake Lewellyn was arrested for kidnapping, rape, capital murder, and abuse of a corpse on August 21, 2020. His first appearance in court was August 24, 2020.
Lewellyn told police he had hit Sydney by accident while she was running and was scared he would get in trouble, so he put her body in his trunk and drove to a rice field.
Once there, he explained he sexually assaulted her remains and buried her body.
On October 1, 2021, Quake Lewellyn pleaded guilty to the rape and murder of Sydney Sutherland.
Prosecutors dropped the charges of kidnapping and abuse of a corpse when they accepted his plea of guilty. Lewellyn is serving his life sentence without the possibility of parole.
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