The murder suspect with several connections to Republican politics in north Alabama allegedly sodomized his victim with a plunger before killing him, according to the complaints against Kyle Hayden Lewter filed in court Tuesday.

Lewter, 36, was identified in a 2022 social media post as the chairman of Madison County Young Republicans. He also reportedly had a paid position with state Sen. Tom Butler and said in a 2017 interview that he worked on campaigns for ex-U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks and former U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions.

He is charged with murder and sexual torture in the March 6 death of 54-year-old Harvest resident Derek Franklin Walls. The suspect and victim knew each other, according to authorities.

Lewter “utilized a plunger handle and forcefully inserted it in the anus area while victim was still alive,” according to the sexual torture complaint filed in Madison County District Court.

He allegedly killed Walls “by blunt force by a hammer,” the complaint charging Lewter with murder stated.

Walls was found slain March 6 in a home in the 1700 block of Capstone Road in Harvest.

A preliminary hearing has not yet been scheduled in the case.