He’s been missing 2 years. Ex-wife, Kentucky sheriff’s deputy now face murder charge
More than two years after he disappeared, a Kentucky man’s ex-wife and a sheriff’s deputy have been charged with his murder, according to Kentucky State Police.
Lena Michelle Collet North, 27, and former Leslie County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeremy Lewis, 35, were arrested Wednesday, according to police. The two-year investigation resulted in a grand jury indicting both for murder. Tyler North, a Leslie County resident, has been missing since June 24, 2018. His truck was found July 1, 2018, on a strip mine road at the Leslie and Clay county line, according to police.
The case was considered a murder investigation very shortly after North’s disappearance because “traces of Tyler’s life just stopped,” state Trooper Matthew Gayheart told the Herald-Leader.
“No family contact, no financial activity,” Gayheart said. “That is very out of character for this individual. So then we have to start treating it as if it were a murder investigation. This case was solved by a few key pieces of electronic evidence, as well as video footage from several businesses and so forth.”
Investigators started by looking for people who would benefit from North’s disappearance, he said. The Norths had divorced, and Lena remarried, Gayheart said. After separating from her second husband, she eventually began dating Lewis, and the two had a child together, Gayheart said.
North’s truck had been burned, but North wasn’t found, according to police. He was last seen near the Cawood Recreation Area on the night of June 24, according to police.
Detectives were able to present evidence that placed both suspects at the scene where North’s truck was found, Gayheart said. Lewis was still a sheriff’s deputy at the time.
The accused killers were each taken to the Leslie County Jail and held on a $100,000 bond, according to jail records. North’s body still hasn’t been found.
“We’re hoping the arrests will lead to something,” Gayheart said. “However, the search still continues.”
This story was originally published October 8, 2020 at 11:32 AM.