Ryan James Lindsey, 33, has been sentenced to life in prison without parole in connection with the 2020 death of 35-year-old Cody Stradford, whose body was discovered inside a burned vehicle near Mountain Home.
A Baxter County Circuit Court jury convicted Lindsey of capital murder, kidnapping, second-degree battery, and arson. In addition to the life term, he received a 15-year sentence and $12,500 in fines, according to the Arkansas State Police.
Stradford’s remains were found on December 16, 2020, in a burned car parked along Old Arkana Road, located south of Mountain Home. Investigators from the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division, the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office, and the Mountain Home Police Department determined that Stradford had been assaulted at a residence in Mountain Home before being moved to the remote site.
Lindsey was apprehended several days later in Brownsville, Texas, and extradited to Baxter County to face charges.
Authorities noted that additional individuals have also been charged in the case. Their trials are reportedly still pending.
Lindsey will serve his sentence in the custody of the Arkansas Division of Corrections.