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David Swift breaks his silence
It was three years ago when 44-year-old Karen Swift, mother of four, went missing. Though an extensive investigation immediately followed Swift's disappearance concerning her whereabouts, it was nearly six weeks later before her body was found near Bledsoe Cemetery in Dyer County.
Karen Swift filed for divorce on Oct.10, three weeks prior to her disappearance, but continued to live at the residence with her husband, David Swift, on Willie Johnson Road until she disappeared.
Though investigators with the Dyer County Sheriff's Office have spent the last three years gathering evidence, as of today no charges have been filed in the case. No suspects or persons of interest have been named, and the case is yet to be turned over to the district attorney in order for a decision to be made as to whether there is enough evidence to charge and prosecute someone involving Swift's murder.
During the last three years, Swift's husband has remained silent concerning the circumstances surrounding his wife's death, until now. On Tuesday, Oct. 28, Swift sat down for an exclusive interview with the State Gazette, breaking his silence for the first time.
Swift said the last three years have been difficult ones to deal with for himself as well as for his four children concerning the unsolved murder of his wife.
"It's been a living nightmare as far as how the last three years have gone with everything that's happened," said Swift. "There hasn't been a lot of time for grieving because there are a lot of unanswered questions, and to be honest, it's been a very difficult time for my kids and also for myself."
Swift said he didn't know why someone would want to harm his wife, but he, along with his attorney Steve Farese, have performed their own investigation to determine what may have happened to his wife.
"I know law enforcement has their investigation, but my attorney and I have uncovered facts that aren't circumstantial that could have possibly led to her disappearance," said Swift. "Then again, it could have been something random that happened to her, but there are a lot of unanswered questions that need to be answered."
Swift said since the initial days of the investigation, he felt like the eyes of law enforcement were focused squarely on him, something he understood was the norm in cases involving a murdered spouse.
"That's a common tactic of law enforcement to always look at the spouse, and I was ok with that and I welcomed that," Swift added. "I provided anything and everything to law enforcement to help aid and assist in their investigation. They came to our house on several occasions to collect stuff and not one time did I ever refuse to let them do their job."
Swift has never officially been named a suspect or a person of interest in his wife's murder. Swift stated he has always been willing to talk to law enforcement officials, but those efforts were turned down once it became known an attorney was representing him.
"I had some standard interviews with the sheriff's department, but I've never been asked if I had any type of involvement in her disappearance or murder," said Swift. "That led me to believe they were looking at other avenues as to what happened, but today I just don't think they've done a very good investigation and pursued possibilities other than myself. I've contacted the sheriff's department and asked about the investigation and Sheriff Jeff Box said they couldn't speak to me because I had an attorney. I am willing and have been willing, to arrange to speak with them with my attorney at any time, but they've never followed through on setting up any type of meeting." When asked if he would be willing to sit down with investigators if contacted now, Swift answered "absolutely".
Swift has also allowed law enforcement to interview one of his daughters, despite the efforts of his previous attorney asking him not to do so. "I welcomed them to fully interview her even though my attorney at the time told me not to do that. I said yes because I wanted to help in any way I could."
Another question commonly associated with David Swift is the idea he did nothing to help in the search of his wife following her disappearance. Swift says he did search, despite being on crutches due to a knee surgery he had months before the disappearance, as well as being told to stay inside by a member of law enforcement.
"Under advisement of the sheriff, he told me to stay inside because of all the media. He advised me not to talk to them because they were twisting around what he was saying and it was better if I just stayed inside the house," Swift stated. "My sons and I would go out at night and look because I was on crutches. It was difficult to even get around and I didn't want to get trapped by the media with nowhere to go, but we passed out fliers, stopped people on the road, gave fliers to the mailman to hand out and even went to the country club to ask some staff that was there for the party if they had seen anything that night."
Swift said he last spoke with his wife when she returned from the Halloween party early due to a daughter becoming ill while at a friend's house for a sleepover. According to Swift, the brief encounter when Karen arrived home was the last time he saw her.
The following morning, Swift awoke to find his wife not at home. Initially, Swift wasn't worried or concerned because Karen was known to leave early in the morning for a number of reasons. Swift began to text Karen around 10 on Sunday morning. After not receiving a response or hearing from her by noon, concern set in and Swift decided to start to look for Karen.
After calling a neighbor to ask them to watch his daughter while he searched, he was informed her 2004 Nissan Murano was on the side of the road not far from the Swift home. Upon finding her vehicle, Swift notified Sheriff Jeff Box his wife was missing.
"I notified the sheriff personally after finding her car with a flat tire that something was wrong, and everything started from there," said Swift.
When Swift was informed on Dec.10, 2011 Karen's body had been found, he said the news was heartbreaking to say the least. "It was devastating because we had been holding on to some hope that we would find her alive. It was like someone hit me in the gut," said Swift as he became emotional reflecting back to the day the body was found. "It was very emotional because I knew I had to tell my kids and that was tough and I don't wish that on anyone. It was hard to believe and when they told me it was just overwhelming to know she wasn't coming home."
When asked if he intentionally or unintentionally had anything to do with his wife's disappearance or murder, Swift was quick to give an emphatic answer. "Absolutely not," he said. "I loved her and I still love her. Yes, she had filed for divorce, and while I wasn't happy about it, we were ok with each other and I would have never done anything to harm her."
Recently, Swift sold the home he shared with Karen and has relocated with his children. Swift holds on to the hope justice will prevail in his wife's murder. He said he still thinks about her all the time. He still considers how she would feel when making decisions involving their children.
"Some people think I don't care, but they don't see me and they don't know me. They don't know how many times I go to her closet and just smell of her clothes because that's all I have to hang on to," said Swift. "She will always be a part of our lives. I want to make sure that any decisions I make, even with the simplest of things, that I'm doing things she would approve of and be happy about."