David Swift, a man previously indicted on voluntary manslaughter charges after a jury deadlocked on the verdict in a case regarding the death of his wife Karen, has seen those charges dropped. As Action News 5 reported, the decision follows the inability of the jury to reach a unanimous decision. Karen Swift was found deceased after her SUV was discovered abandoned near her home in 2011.
Following the jury’s split decision, a legal turn now has Swift facing no further prosecution in Tennessee for his wife’s death. “District Attorney Danny Goodman says he has filed an appeal to the judge over the dropped charge,” in a statement obtained by Action News 5. Swift’s legal hurdles aren’t over though. He’s also accused of stalking his second wife in Alabama, where the couple has since divorced, and is awaiting extradition to face these separate charges.
The background surrounding Karen Swift’s case includes her being reported missing on October 30, 2011, after she left a Halloween party in Dyersburg. It was weeks later when her remains were discovered by a group of hunters. As explained by a Dyer County court clerk and covered by WREG, this prior jury had not been able to convict Swift of first, or second-degree murder, or the related attempted charges…