Man sought in Kansas homicide dies in rollover crash after highway patrol chase
A man sought in a woman’s homicide died after a police pursuit led to a rollover accident in south-central Kansas Saturday.
Jerry Thompson, 55, of Tidewater, Oregon, was a person of interest in a homicide investigation in Anderson County, authorities said Monday.
The incident began at 9:03 p.m. Saturday when troopers spotted a stolen 2009 Ford Focus heading east on U.S. 54 roughly one mile west of Greensburg in Kiowa County.
Troopers pulled the Focus over. A trooper spoke to Thompson, who then fled in the vehicle, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.
A chased ensued along eastbound U.S. 54. At 9:09 p.m., deputies from the Kiowa County Sheriff’s Office deployed spike strips. The car left the road, went into a ditch, hit a field entrance and became airborne, the crash report shows.
The car landed and rolled multiple times before stopping in a field. Thompson was thrown out of the vehicle. He was taken to Kiowa County Memorial Hospital where he died from his injuries, the KHP said.
Earlier, on Thursday, Anderson County Sheriff’s Office deputies conducted a welfare check call at a house owned by Thompson in the 300 block of 1st Street in Kincaid, the sheriff’s office said Monday.
Deputies found 36-year-old Sheila Kendall of Georgia dead inside the house.
“During the initial course of the investigation, the death was ruled a homicide,” the release said. “With the combined effort of the Coffey County Sheriff’s Office and Garnett Police Department, a Jerry W. Thompson, who owned the residence, was classified as a person of interest to the homicide.”
An arrest warrant was issued for Thompson on Friday, a day before the deadly chase in Kiowa County.
This story was originally published January 27, 2025 at 12:36 PM.