A Jackson County, Arkansas man has been charged with capital murder in the death of 25 year old nurse Sydney Sutherland, who disappeared while jogging near her home last week. Authorities say he reportedly confessed.
Sutherland was reported missing last Wednesday, August 19, after she did not return from an afternoon run. Two days later her body was found near where she lived after a search that included volunteers and police officers, according to Fox 16 Little Rock.
Quake Lewellyn, a 28 year old farmer, was arrested on suspicion of capital murder soon after her body was found. He had been listed as a member of a Facebook page created to help search for Sutherland. Reports say he confessed when officers interviewed him about her disappearance. Authorities said he abducted Sutherland as she walked along a county road and assaulted her. Lewellyn is charged, and a charge is not a conviction.
On Monday, Lewellyn appeared at the Jackson County Courthouse for a probable cause hearing. A judge found cause to charge him and ordered him held without bond until his arraignment on October 1. Sutherland’s family attended.
Jackson County Sheriff David Lucas said earlier that Lewellyn knew Sutherland, though the nature of their relationship was unclear. He told Jonesboro station KAIT the case has been hard on him because Sutherland went to school with his daughters. “I know this family personally,” he said.
A candlelight vigil was held Sunday in Tuckerman, about 100 miles northeast of Little Rock, to remember Sutherland.
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