A Lincoln County man sought in a woman’s death died Jan. 25 in south-central Kansas after a police pursuit led to a rollover accident.
Jerry W. Thompson, 55, of Tidewater, was a person of interest in a homicide investigation in Anderson County, authorities said.
The incident began at 9:03 p.m. Jan. 25 when Kansas Highway Patrol troopers spotted a stolen 2009 Ford Focus heading east on U.S. Highway 54 roughly one mile west of Greensburg in Kiowa County. Troopers pulled the Focus over and spoke to Thompson, who then fled in the vehicle, according to the highway patrol.
A chased ensued east along the highway and six minutes later Kiowa County Sheriff’s deputies deployed spike strips to try to disable Thompson’s car. His car left the road, went into a ditch, hit a field entrance and became airborne, police said, landing in the field and rolled multiple times. Thompson was thrown out of the car. He was taken to Kiowa County Memorial Hospital where he died from his injuries, the highway patrol said.
On Jan. 24, Anderson County Sheriff’s Office deputies conducted a welfare check at a house Thompson owned in Kincaid, a small town south of Kansas City, and found te body of Sheila Kendall, 36, of Georgia. Her death was ruled a homicide and a court issued an arrest warrant for Thompson the day before the deadly chase.
