Alabama Young Republican Leader Charged With SA, Torture, & Murder... Of Another Man...

Well, this isn’t exactly what you’d want for a role model for Young Republicans — even worse, their party’s leader!

In a shocking press release, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office in Alabama announced they’d arrested a man named Kyle Hayden Lewter, 36, with the alleged killing of another man, Derek Franklin Walls, 54. Walls was found dead inside his own Harvest home last Thursday. His uncle called 911 after he didn’t answer the door — and Sheriff’s deputies found him there, apparently in a horrific scene…

Here’s where it gets more disturbing…

Lewter was at first charged with murder, but on Friday two more charges were added: sexual torture and sexual abuse with an inanimate object. WTF?! Walls’ cause of death has not yet been released and is pending the completion of an autopsy. But it’s clear this was a brutal killing. We’re not sure we’ve ever heard of anyone being charged with “sexual torture.” The Sheriff’s Office said in their statement:

“It appears that there was a physical altercation between both individuals who were known to each other, which ultimately resulted in the death of Mr. Walls.”

While we await more specific (and possibly unprintable?) details, we can tell you about the other upsetting aspect of the case. The man charged with these crimes worked closely with young people and political leaders. He’s the chairman of the local chapter of the Madison County Young Republicans, according to their Facebook page. Their profile says their mission “focuses on recruiting, training, and electing Republican candidates to office at all levels of office, from the courthouse to the White House” — and then lists a phone number to reach Lewter directly. It hasn’t even been changed as of this writing. Ick.

Lewter was apparently highly active in the GOP generally, as The News Courier did a profile on him in 2017 about how he helped Alabama State Senators Tom Butler and Henry White with their campaigns. Senator Butler told WAFF he was “speechless” and “saddened for all families involved” upon hearing the news of his old colleague.

Lewter is being held on $60,000 bond. We’ll keep you updated if there are any more answers in the case.