TN TN - Karen Swift, 44, Dyersburg, 30 Oct 2011 - #2

[belimom]

The hoodie and jeans may or may not belong to Karen. A friend was quoted as saying the clothes belonged to Karen, but police have not said that they were Karen's clothes. Police have only said that they sent the clothes for testing.

I do think it probably is hers, but LE can't just take the friends' word for it and has to send it off for testing. MOO

 

[belimom]

I have not forgotten the RSO's house is as close to where Karen's car was found as her own house is....therefore, the RSO's house is almost as close to where her body was found.

PLEASE hold the (one tonne) tomatoes.

bbm



ETA: TB, your theory about the RSOs is tucked into the back of my brain, but at this point, I'm really really leaning in the direction of her husband... I hope I'm wrong - it would be much easier if a stranger did this, kwim?

 

[FightTheOstrich]

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Who killed a beautiful missing mother of four, Karen Swift? The night she vanished, Karen left urgent voice mails and texts for friends. Listen to what that friend told Nancy Grace.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She called me at 11:38, at 11:39. At 11:40, she sent me a text that said, "Jenny, call me, please." And I had went to bed at 11 p.m.

NANCY GRACE, HLN HOST: Did she...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was normal for her to text me. She did that a lot. But for her to call me three times in a row and then, when I didn`t respond,
for her to then text me, that was -- that was -- I felt like she was upset about something.

Let's assume that Karen was upset about something. If it was a stranger at
the party, then is wasn't a serious concern because she made it home safely. We haven't heard about any texting or phone calls regarding a meeting with
someone she met the party. She was safe from strangers at home. Could she
have been upset about staying at home with her husband while her daughters
were away, maybe looking to spend the night at a friend's place? I've heard
that it was one or both daughters that were at a sleepover ... don't know for
sure, but if both daughters were at a sleepover, Karen may have been looking
for a place to stay. Even though I've heard the party shut down at about
midnight, Karen's daughter didn't call until 1:30. I wonder if there was more
than one call between daughters and mom that night. Did Karen stay late at
the party after most people left? How long did it take to drive from The Farms
district to home? Where is The Farms?

If she was upset, and made it home safely, then the only other concern she could have had came from inside the home. Would she leave because of an argument? Could she have taken her daughter to sleep with her sister because she had to leave? If she had to leave, and the threat was from inside the home, did she actually make it out the door?

Madelaine74, do you recall Brad Cooper's wife Nancy was reaching out to people she met at a dinner party the night she was murdered. I wonder if
Karen did the same thing ... maybe one of them suggested she stay with a friend so at 11:38-40 she called and texted her friend, but the friend was
already in bed. Nancy Cooper was murdered at home while her two young
daughters slept upstairs.

Great post. Questions\thoughts to add.

If the husband was home all night by himself, perhaps he found information he didn't like. Documents she had compiled for her lawyer, who knows? Maybe he contacted her at the party and that is why she was upset.

Some posters have suggested she wasn't killed in the home bc the girls would have heard something. But, they would have been exhausted and if verbal disagreements were the norm, it may not have woken them. He also could have threatened the children in order to control her.

 

[TxLady2]

I live right outside of Memphis and was born in Dyersburg Tennessee.
Nana46 is so right.
Dyersburg is quite a drive from here. Depending on the route it would take about an hour and a half.
It certainly isn't any "upscale suburb" of Memphis, as the NG shows have said.
Dyersburg is a nice growing town. The Obion River is not really a very large body of water, though I am sure it is navigatable by smaller flat bottom boats and canoes.
I know that logic would be that the soon to be ex did this, but not necessarily.
In a divorce where two people can manage, even under stress, to continue to live in the same house, it doesn't really seem, IMO, that one would kill the other.
I've been thru divorce and when it was filed, the other spouse had to go. That's the usual course of action, even when finances are tight.
I have to give both Karen and her husband credit for trying to keep their family together while going thru a terrible time.
In all fairness not every divorce is a "war of roses".
People change and it's possible that what was ok when you got married doesn't suit you anymore.
Maybe what seemed like love and protection begins to feel like controlling and snooping.
Just saying that for the kids' sakes, I hope the STBex isn't guilty of this.
And may Karen rest in peace.
All jmo

Thank you for this, I agree and am hoping it is not the husband as well.
I think we can change that label of STBX now because obviously that divorce will never be finalized. In the eyes of the law, he is legally still her husband.
I am not convinced that he is the perp, I am going to have to hear it from LE, and I am certainly not going to base any opinions on what the media has put out because I can see that they've embellished facts, too.
For example, it went from one flat tire to two slashed tires. And from being found in a cemetery to a wooded area NEAR the cemetery.
Who knows what to believe now?

 

[FightTheOstrich]

That practically rules out her getting in the car, leaving home, and having a "flat tire". She would have noticed this damage as soon as she started to drive it, even if she ignored the warning system.

MOO

Agreed, and I don't think too many women would ignore the warning system, in the middle of the night, in a remote area.....

 

[MagnoliaMom]

That's incredible! Thank you for the links. I agree, if she hadn't been found while she still had some color, she would never have been found as a skeleton.
(still waiting for the video to load)

Does it commonly grow all over the place?

It is known as the vine that ate the south. It is invasive and grows a foot a day. It was brought in for soil erosion and has swallowed up 7 million acres. It has no bounds and efforts to curb it's appetite have not been effective. If it gets on trees it will kill them. It can grow 6 ft tall so it is dangerous to walk in and who knows what is underneath from snakes to dangerous terrain (not to mention buildings, cars and large equipment).

 

[tarabull]

Murder probe launched after body of mother-of-four who vanished after Halloween party is found
December 13, 2011

snipped...

Court documents showed the couple seemed to agree on a custody arrangement and child support payments and the couple were still living together.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-body-missing-mother-found.html#ixzz1gQieZCM8

 

[yllek]

So tragic. Getting ready to start a new life, with 4 children, and her life was taken away from her. I'm suspicious of her husband just because of the circumstances of their marriage and the financial impacts of divorce. But, I am anxious to hear more about what circumstantial evidence LE has pointing to any/all potentional suspects. Also, of course, anxious to learn what physical evidence they may have gathered. Hopefully, they've got something really defnitive to bring Karen's killer(s) to justice.

RIP Karen Swift. Bless her children and those who loved her.

 

[Joe Friday]

Lots of information in this article as far as a time line of events.

She reportedly arrived home sometime after midnight after picking up one of her daughters from a sleepover because she did not feel well. Box stated David Swift allegedly spoke with Karen Swift briefly in the stairwell after she and the child were inside the house. Authorities allege David Swift told them he awoke the next morning (Sunday, Oct. 30) and could not find his wife and tried calling her cell phone with no answer. Soon afterward, a neighbor called David Swift to tell him Karen Swift's SUV was on Millsfield Highway. He is then alleged to have called one of their sons in Arkansas to see if he could reach Karen Swift, but to no avail. David Swift is then reported to have called some of Karen Swift's friends to see if they had seen her. At 2:37 p.m., a friend of Karen Swift's called the Dyer County Sheriff's Department and notified them she was missing and the dispatcher advised her that David Swift should call and give details. He is then reported to have called the sheriff's department and given them details about what was going on. Soon after, deputies arrived and discovered the SUV had a flat tire. They searched the Swift residence and later impounded the vehicle. On Monday, Oct. 30, Box along with other officers and a K-9 unit from Fort Pillow Penitentiary searched the area around Swift's house and where the vehicle was found. Throughout the rest of the week, officers searched the area for Swift and potential evidence in the case and her vehicle was sent to the TBI's crime lab in Nashville for processing. Personnel from the Dyer County Sheriff's Dept., Tennessee Highway Patrol Strike Teams, a THP helicopter, the Dyer County Rescue Squad, and members of the Shelby County Sheriff's Dept. took part in searches across the county. THP Strike Team members and others found potential evidence, believed to be connected to Swift, during numerous searches. Box would not release what was found. On Saturday, Nov. 5, John Hogshooter, 39, Pennell Lane, was arrested by sheriff's officers for aggravated animal cruelty while they were performing a search of a wooded area on Harness Road. Hogshooter was accused of poisoning two dogs in the area, one of which belonged to the Swifts. A warrant was signed for his arrest and he was taken into custody as he pulled into a property of his on Harness Road. Dyer County Sheriff's Dept. Chief Investigator Terry McCreight said due to the nature of Hogshooter's case and the proximity to the Swifts' residence they had to look at him as part of their investigation into her disappearance. As a result, Hogshooter's vehicle was temporarily impounded and investigators searched his Harness Road residence. McCreight said Hogshooter's vehicle was released back to him and no noteworthy evidence was found during their search at the time. On Thursday, Nov. 10, as part of the Dyer County Sheriff's Department's investigation into Swift's disappearance, the TBI's Violent Crimes Response Team was at her Willie Johnson Road residence processing potential evidence. TBI spokesperson Kristin Helm stated Special Agent Forensic Scientists out of the Memphis crime lab responded to the Swift residence to look for evidence of a crime scene. They are specially trained to look for trace evidence that could be collected and processed back at the laboratory. Searches in the area of Swift's home and other parts of Dyer County were performed by multiple agencies throughout the next month until her body was found on Saturday. The Dyer County Sheriff's Office and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation are jointly investigating Swift's death. The Dyer County Sheriff's Office requests that any person with information about this case contact the Dyer County Sheriff's Office at 731-285-2802 or call the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

http://www.stategazette.com/topic/karenswift

 

[truckengirl]

It is known as the vine that ate the south. It is invasive and grows a foot a day. It was brought in for soil erosion and has swallowed up 7 million acres. It has no bounds and efforts to curb it's appetite have not been effective. If it gets on trees it will kill them. It can grow 6 ft tall so it is dangerous to walk in and who knows what is underneath from snakes to dangerous terrain (not to mention buildings, cars and large equipment).

From the videos I saw it looks like whoever put her body there did not go very far into the vines. We have it everywhere here in GA and no way would I go walking in the middle of it because no telling what is up under there. I'm thinking she was put there during the night and with it being dark that would make it even worse to think about going into the middle of it. IMHO I feel it could have been the husband because whoever got rid of her had to dispose of her body quickly and he would have had to hurry to get back to the kids before they got up. I feel like a random stranger would have taken her body away from there with them. Most times a body is found this close to home it ends up being a family member that killed them.

 

[AmyMarie222]

I don't really know if this is of any significance at all or not, but I just noticed that David Swift's attorney has the same last name (Naifeh, referenced here) as the person who is quoted in several articles coming to David's defense ("He loved her. He didn't want the divorce. They've already been through one prior. He's a good person who is heartbroken and crushed and doesn't know what to do.") It's almost like that woman is on a media blitz. Makes me wonder if it's her husband who is David's criminal attorney. Wonder what the relationship is between them all is.

 

[otto]

It is known as the vine that ate the south. It is invasive and grows a foot a day. It was brought in for soil erosion and has swallowed up 7 million acres. It has no bounds and efforts to curb it's appetite have not been effective. If it gets on trees it will kill them. It can grow 6 ft tall so it is dangerous to walk in and who knows what is underneath from snakes to dangerous terrain (not to mention buildings, cars and large equipment).

That's incredible! I had never heard of it before. So it was introduced to the US in 1874 and declared a noxious weed in 1972. I can easily understand that Karen would never have been found had she not been found now - before full decomposition. It reminds me of Day of the Triffids by John Wyndam.

 

[~n/t~]

Trying to catch up. Were the autopsy results released? I can't believe there hasn't been an arrest yet.

 

[ThoughtFox]

There's a vacant lot with kudzu in my neighborhood so I'm well acquainted with the plant. If you stand close to the vines on a warm sunny day they will actually move a little closer to you while you watch - true fact. It grows at an enormous rate and would have covered the South by now except for one thing - it is deciduous and doesn't grow in the winter.

ETA: Imagine huge bean vines, because Kudzu is a legume and has pink and white flowers like a bean. That's the only good thing about kudzu - hummingbirds love it.

It's amazing that a perp would be stupid enough to forget that kudzu leaves fall off every winter leaving only bare vines. Maybe he thought the vines alone would be thick enough to hide the body.

Or maybe there wasn't much rational thinking going on - ya think?

 

[Dewey2Me1MoThyme]

Just a thought from left field, and not wanting to cast a shadow on anyone who may be innocent, but I have to wonder if after arriving home, the daughter told Karen about someone (adult male) at the party house touching her inappropriately, or making her feel very uncomfortable, and KS decided to confront them. I know it's out there and purly specualtion of a possible theory, but would like to hear some of your views on this possibilty.

 

[~n/t~]

Lots of information in this article as far as a time line of events.

The most important times are missing. :banghead:

She reportedly arrived home sometime after midnight after picking up one of her daughters from a sleepover because she did not feel well. Box stated David Swift allegedly spoke with Karen Swift briefly in the stairwell after she and the child were inside the house. Authorities allege David Swift told them he awoke the next morning (Sunday, Oct. 30) and could not find his wife and tried calling her cell phone with no answer. Soon afterward, a neighbor called David Swift to tell him Karen Swift's SUV was on Millsfield Highway. He is then alleged to have called one of their sons in Arkansas to see if he could reach Karen Swift, but to no avail. David Swift is then reported to have called some of Karen Swift's friends to see if they had seen her.

 

[~n/t~]

Sometime after midnight? Wasn't it 1:30? :innocent:

 

[AmyMarie222]

Just a thought from left field, and not wanting to cast a shadow on anyone who may be innocent, but I have to wonder if after arriving home, the daughter told Karen about someone (adult male) at the party house touching her inappropriately, or making her feel very uncomfortable, and KS decided to confront them. I know it's out there and purly specualtion of a possible theory, but would like to hear some of your views on this possibilty.

I'm sure if that was the case, LE would have heard as much from both David and the young daughter, and LE would have been seen at that residence collecting possible evidence. I can't imagine a storyline like that would have gone unnoticed.

 

[tarabull]

Kudzu Vine on Vimeo - long version: Kudzu Vine on Vimeo

Kudzu Vine on Vimeo - sampler: Kudzu Vine on Vimeo

 

[Dewey2Me1MoThyme]

I'm sure if that was the case, LE would have heard as much from both David and the young daughter, and LE would have been seen at that residence collecting possible evidence. I can't imagine a storyline like that would have gone unnoticed.

That's provided she told her husband. From what I understand he was very controlling and possibly she didn't want him blowing up, and may have felt she could handle it her own way. She may have also (IF that were the case) told her daughter not to say anything about it to David. Again, just speculating, but something drew her out of that home in the early morning hours, or, someone took her out of the home. All MOO of course.