Menu
Swift autopsy report complete, details remain sealed
The final autopsy report on Karen Swift is complete and in the hands of Dyer County Sheriff's investigators as they are moving forward with their murder investigation to bring her killer to justice.
Dyer County Sheriff Jeff Box would not comment on the findings of the report due to the details being sealed under court order, but he did say investigators feel the results will be helpful in their "homicide investigation".
"With the autopsy results completed, we can continue to advance the investigation," said Box.
He and his investigators received the report several days ago and they have been busy working on the case since then.
In a court order, dated Dec. 21, 2011, Dyer County Circuit Court Judge Lee Moore ordered the autopsy report not be subject to disclosure as a public document. Its contents are to remain confidential pending the indictment and arrest of those responsible or the closure of the investigation.
Swift's body was sent to the medical examiner's office on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011, after it was discovered by a cemetery caretaker near Bledsoe Cemetery in Dyer County. The location was approximately three miles from Swift's residence on Willie Johnson Road where she lived with her husband and two of their children. Swift had been missing since Oct. 30, 2011, and her identity was confirmed on Dec. 11, 2011, using her dental records. Afterward, Box stated his department was pursuing the case as a murder investigation due to the placement of Swift's body and apparent injuries to it.
Box noted the four and one-half month-long investigation has produced numerous items requiring analysis and they are still waiting on a few more results to come back.
"This has been an investigation which has developed a lot of evidence that required lab work," said Box. "We have received lab results from much of the evidence submitted, but are still awaiting DNA processing and results of additional evidence that has been sent to the TBI Crime Lab."
Box said each piece of evidence they have collected has yielded valuable information as they build their case.
"We do feel we have recovered evidence that will be beneficial in completing the investigation," said Box. "Our agency, working along with the TBI, will continue the investigation to attempt to gather all possible evidence that will be beneficial in seeking arrest and conviction of the person responsible for this homicide."
Karen Swift, a 44-year-old mother of four was reportedly last seen early Sunday morning, Oct. 30, by her husband David Swift at their home on Willie Johnson Road after she had returned there from a Halloween party. Her white 2004 Nissan Murano was later found abandoned on Sunday, Oct. 30, on Millsfield Highway near the intersection of Harness Road with a flat tire. Her body found on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011, near Bledsoe Cemetery in Dyer County by a cemetery caretaker. An autopsy was performed on Karen Swift's body by the Shelby County Medical Examiner's Office in Memphis and she was buried in Pocahontas, Ark. on Feb. 11.
The Dyer County Sheriff's Department is still asking anyone who had contact with Karen Swift before her disappearance, recalls seeing anyone near her vehicle on Millsfield Highway on Oct. 30, or has any other information about the case to contact the Dyer County Sheriff's Office at 731-285-2802 or 1-800-TBI-FIND.