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The upcoming episode of NBC's Dateline is all set to cover the brutal 2011 murder of Karen Swift, a mother of four from Dyersburg, Tennessee. Though the murder dates back over a decade, the accused in this case has still not been punished. In fact, the first arrest was made quite recently and the court case concluded only earlier this year, where Karen's husband, David Swift, was found not guilty of the murder.
This case is the subject of Dateline season 33 episode 7, titled After the Halloween Party, which will air on November 1, 2024, at 9 pm EST.
Ahead of this episode, let us go over who Karen Swift was and what had actually happened to her.
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Who was Karen Swift and what happened to her?
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Born on January 25, 1967, to Gary and Carol Johnson, Karen grew up in a loving household in Galesburg, Illinois, with her two siblings. An avid athlete from a young age, Karen was known for her physical abilities and reportedly won many prizes throughout her high school years.
In her early 20s, she met David Swift and the two hit it off. Soon, they were married and had four children between them, two daughters named Ashley Paige Swift and Keeley Shea Swift, and two sons, Preston David Swift and Dustin Glen Swift. Though Karen and David had once divorced in 2000, after they remarried, things seemed to be going fine between the couple.
However, things took an abrupt turn in the lives of Karen and her family members just before Halloween 2011. On October 29, 2011, Karen Swift went to a Halloween party at the Dyersburg Country Club but she reportedly came back when one of her kids felt sick. The next morning, David Swift claimed that he could not locate his wife.
After calling some mutual friends and relatives inquiring about Karen Swift, David reported her missing. Authorities began a long-drawn cycle of questioning and searches but found nothing for six weeks. Then, after extensive searches, the police found the 44-year-old woman's dead body hidden by undergrowth and vegetation near Blesdoe Cemetery. This effectively changed the case from a missing persons case to a homicide investigation.
Who killed Karen Swift?
There weren't a lot of suspects in Karen Swift's murder. The police initially doubted David Swift, but with no physical evidence to tie him to the case, he was let go. They also singled out one John Hogshooter, who was arrested for animal cruelty. He lived near the Swifts but physical evidence could not link him to the crime in any way either.
No arrests were made during the time and the case grew cold. Over ten years later, the police decided to press charges on David Swift. He was arrested and released on bail but was arrested again for a separate case involving his next wife.
He was ultimately charged with first-degree murder, first-degree attempted murder, second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, and second-degree attempted murder. The jury ultimately found him not guilty of anything other than voluntary manslaughter.
The voluntary manslaughter charge had a hung jury, which means that David will perhaps get a retrial soon.
So far, no one has been punished for the murder of Karen Swift.
The upcoming episode of Dateline on NBC will cover this case in further detail.
