Additional charges have been filed against a man arrested in a death in Madison County.

According the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, Kyle Hayden Lewter, 36, now faces sexual torture and sexual abuse with an inanimate object charges. He initially was charged with murder in the death of Derek Franklin Walls, 54, of Harvest, who was found inside a residence on March 6.

A Madison County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson told WHNT that the new charge “pertains to the death investigation involving Mr. Walls and not correlated to any other case.”

Bail has been set for $60,000.

Lewter has ties to several Alabama Republican campaigns and organizations.

Brent Patterson, spokesman for the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, said the case is not tied to Lewter’s political activity.

“The factual circumstances of this death investigation are not related to any political activities that Mr. Lewter was engaged in,” Patterson said.

Investigators believe a physical altercation between the two, who knew each other, led to Walls’ death. In a Facebook post, the sheriff’s office said Walls was not shot.

Lewter, in a 2017 interview, said he had done campaign work for former U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks and former U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions.

A social media post from 2022 identifies him as the chairman of Madison County Young Republicans.

WHNT is reporting that Lewter had a paid position with Alabama State Sen. Tom Butler. Attempts to reach Butler’s office for comment were not immediately successful.

In a statement to WAFF, Butler said news of Lewter’s arrest left him “speechless” and “saddened for all families involved.”

Lewter was taken to Madison County Jail to be held without bond until an Aniah’s Law hearing.

Shelby Thorson, who identifies herself as the daughter of Derek Walls, has set up a GoFundMe page to pay for funeral expenses.

“My dads life was taken from him in the middle of the night on March 6th,” the post reads. “Due to this unexpected passing nothing was in place to help with any of the funeral expenses. I would like to have a small service where everyone can get together in remembrance of my father. If anyone would like to donate to help get things together that would be wonderful. Thank you all so much for the love and support.”

As of Saturday afternoon, $1,370 had been raised toward a $5,000 goal.