Arkansas Farmer Abducted, Murdered Nurse After He Spotted Her Jogging, Police Say
Quake Lewellyn reportedly joined a Facebook page dedicated to finding Sydney Sutherland after her disappearance.
Sydney Sutherland [Jackson County Sheriff's Department Facebook page]
Investigators continue to piece together the murder of an Arkansas woman who was found dead days after she had gone out to exercise.
Sydney Sutherland, a 25-year-old nurse, was last seen alive by a UPS driver who spotted her between 2 and 3 p.m. on Aug. 19 while she walked and jogged near Newport, Little Rock’s KARK-TV reported.
When Sutherland never returned home, family, friends and multiple law enforcement agencies launched a massive search.
[Jackson County Sheriff’s Department FB page]
Authorities pinged and were able to locate Sutherland’s cell phone a quarter-mile from her home on Aug. 20. Her body was discovered buried on farmland the next day.
Authorities arrested Quake Lewellyn, a 28-year-old local third-generation farmer who reportedly was familiar with Sutherland and had joined a Facebook group dedicated to finding her, People reported.
On Aug. 24, an Arkansas State Police investigator took the stand during a probable cause hearing and alleged Llewlyn “admitted to seeing Sutherland walking on CR 41,” a road near her home, the day she disappeared, according to Region 8 News.
The suspect allegedly turned his vehicle around, and kidnapped Sutherland before sexually assaulting and murdering her.
Jackson County Sheriff David Lucas said Sutherland’s death has “taken a toll” since he knew the victim and “watched her grow up.”
“It hits me personally,” he said.
Sutherland’s loved ones described her as bright and outgoing.
“She will be remembered forever and not because of what happened but because of who she was,” Jordan Tyler Chatman told KARK-TV about her friend.
Melanie Clark said Sutherland’s “life was beautiful” and shouldn’t be thought of as a tragedy.
“Sydney was probably the best part of what any human wants to be,” she said.
A judge has ordered Lewellyn be held without bond in the Randolph County Jail. He faces charges of capital murder, rape and kidnapping and is due back in court on Oct. 1.
