33-year-old man sentenced to life for 2020 murder
MOUNTAIN HOME, Ark. (KATV) — On September 18, 33-year-old Ryan James Lindsey has been convicted in connection with the December 2020 death of 35-year-old Cody Stradford by a Baxter County Circuit Court Judge.
After a five-day trial, Lindsey was found guilty of Capital Murder, Kidnapping, Second-Degree Battery, and Arson. He has been sentenced to life in prison without parole plus an additional 15 years and fines totaling $12,500.
The Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division, Baxter County Sheriff's Office, and the Mountain Home Police Department worked together to investigate the incident, after Stradford was discovered dead inside his burned vehicle in rural Baxter County.
Investigators were able to determine that Stradford had been assaulted at a residence in Mountain Home before being moved to his car.
Lindsey was arrested in Brownsville, Texas days after the incident before being returned to Baxter County to face charges.
Lindsey will serve his life sentence in the Arkansas Division of Corrections.