Johnny Lewis dead: 'Sons of Anarchy' actor and 'The O.C.' star found dead with elderly woman

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - Johnny Lewis, an actor who played Kip "Half Sack" Epps on the cable TV show "Sons of Anarchy," has fallen to his death after apparently beating to death his elderly landlady at a hillside home, authorities said.

The Los Angeles County coroner's office on Thursday identified the bodies as those of Lewis, 28, and Catherine Davis, 81.

Coroner's Watch Cmdr. Larry Deitz said he could not identify Lewis as being the actor. But the name and date of birth match, and both victims lived at the same address.

The causes of their deaths were unknown pending autopsies.

Neighbors called police Wednesday morning to report a woman screaming and three men fighting.

Officers went to a home in the Los Feliz area near Hollywood and found the body of a woman in the driveway, Sgt. Frank Preciado told the Los Angeles Times. Investigators believe she was struck or beaten.

The body of the suspected killer, who may have rented a room from the woman, was found about six feet from a wall, Preciado said.

The man climbed a wall and fought with a housepainter at a neighboring home, returned to the woman's home and climbed the wall again to fight with the painter and the owner of the second house, Preciado said.

The man apparently fell while trying to scale the wall again, Preciado said.

The men who fought with him were treated at the scene for minor injuries, he said.

Jonathan Kendrick Lewis had a career spanning more than a decade, mainly in small roles. He played Ricky in the 2007 movie "AVPR: Aliens vs Predator -- Requiem" and was Dennis `Chili' Childress for two seasons on TV's "The O.C." He played Epps on FX's "Sons of Anarchy" in 2008 and 2009 episodes.