Sydney Sutherland: Suspect Quake Lewellyn ran down jogger, raped and buried her before joining search party
New details have emerged in the murder of Arkansas jogger Sydney Sutherland, including that farmer Quake Lewellyn allegedly hit her with a pickup truck and raped her before burying her body. He subsequently joined a search group that was looking for her. A probable-cause affidavit obtained by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Friday noted how the 28-year-old killer told authorities that he rammed into the 25-year-old with his pickup truck before driving her to a remote area. Lewellyn then proceeded to rape Sutherland and then buried her corpse near a rural highway, according to the affidavit by an Arkansas State Police investigator.
Sutherland, who was jogging more than a mile away from her home, was found after authorities traced the location of her cellphone. Her body was discovered 2.3 miles away, per the affidavit. Following Sutherland's August 19 disappearance, a location search team was formed to find her whereabouts. Lewellyn reportedly joined a Facebook page dedicated to finding her. The 25-year-old's body was found a couple of days later, shortly before the Jonesboro farmer's arrest.
Lewellyn is currently remanded in custody with no bail and is facing charges of capital murder, rape, abuse of a corpse, and kidnapping. He is expected to be arraigned before a judge on October 29. On September 11, an autopsy report revealed that Sutherland had died of “multiple blunt force injuries" and her death was ruled a homicide by the Jackson County Sheriff. According to The Sun, Sutherland was a registered nurse employed at a medical center in Newport. She and Lewellyn were familiar were each other and had crossed paths before, investigators said, but didn't provide any further details on their relationship in the days following the tragedy.
In August, MEAWW reported how Lewellyn, a Tuckerman High School graduate, in 2016 was named Jackson County Farm Family of the Year along with his father, Michael, and grandfather, Donald. Lewellyn at the time had told ArkansasOnline.com: "I’ve always worked on the farm. I began driving a yellow Ford, … hauling seed for dad. We all have our own farms, but we help each other out." While his father, Michael, said: "We are a true family farm. From my dad, Donald, to me, to my son, Quake." It is believed that the family owns 5,800 acres in four counties.
Sutherland's body was found after a search operation that included a helicopter crew and K-9 units. The 25-year-old was last seen running on State Hwy 18 between Newport and Grubbs on August 19 at 3 pm. Days after Sutherland went missing, Jackson County Sheriff David Lucas had confirmed that a man had been arrested in connection to her death and was expected to be charged with homicide.
Police, prior to Lewellyn's arrest, had found Sutherland's iPhone about a quarter-mile from her home. The 25-year-old, at the time of her running, was wearing an Apple Watch and had her iPhone with her. One of Sutherland's relatives had also shared security footage at their house, revealing a picture of Sutherland just moments before she went out for a run. In the image, she's seen in black shorts, a white tank top, and pink sneakers. She didn't appear to be in any distress at the time.