State Attorney John F. Durrett announces that Cindy Rainey, Bailey Rainey, and Jack Rainey, were found guilty by a jury of Tampering with Evidence on July 25, 2024 in Dixie County and were each sentenced to 1 year in the County Jail followed by 4 years of probation.
Jack, Bailey and Cindy Rainey along with their father David Rainey, a coworker of Cindy Rainey, Jeff Sawyer, and the girlfriend of Bailey Rainey all rented an Airbnb in Dixie County. On the night of the crime David awoke to find that his wife was not in bed. He began to search the house and heard his wife in the bathroom with Jeff Sawyer. In a rage David Rainey grabbed a knife and began to stab Sawyer. It’s at this point the facts become disputed. The occupants of the Airbnb say that David walked outside to cool off and never returned. The next day, Sawyer was found dead in the Suwannee River with three stab wounds in his chest. After an investigation by the Dixie County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, David Rainey’s blood was found inside the house. The occupants of the house made up a lie that Sawyer had fallen off the dock and cut himself. All three of the defendants claimed that David had no injuries when he left the house but that did not match the evidence that was found at the home. A cleanup ensued, and the blood of Sawyer and David Rainey were cleaned as best as possible by the defendants. The next day after the defendants left the Airbnb, drops of blood were found by the cleaning staff and the Dixie County Sheriff’s Office was called to investigate. Through interviews, testimony and DNA evidence the State Attorney’s Office was able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt to a Dixie County jury that all three defendants did tamper with evidence of a crime.
The State of Florida was represented by Assistant State Attorney Jarrett Thomas and the Elected State Attorney John Durrett.
The Honorable Mark Feagle conducted the sentencing.
