TN TN - Karen Swift, 44, Dyersburg, 30 Oct 2011 - #3

[ThoughtFox]

Thankfully this Sheriff finally put this "serial killer" theory to bed. It was becoming ridiculous to read the barrage of posts suggesting a random SK just "happened" upon this woman when she just "happened" to get a flat tire in the middle of nowhere.
<Mod Snip>.

It's never made sense to me either as a "crime of opportunity." I just can't see it, considering the rural location, the time of night, the close proximity to the home, and everything else we know about it. No one would lurk on that particular road waiting for a woman to drive by, in my opinion. Not many women out alone in that area on an early Sunday morning, it seems to me.

 

[bessie]

And yet when we examine the known and suspected victims of serial killers, in many, many instances they were women stranded on the side of the road with car problems. Against the odds, they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong moment. It might not be a fact in this case, but it's not an unreasonable possibility to consider. Statistics support it

 

[OldSteve]

It's never made sense to me either as a "crime of opportunity." I just can't see it, considering the rural location, the time of night, the close proximity to the home, and everything else we know about it. No one would lurk on that particular road waiting for a woman to drive by, in my opinion. Not many women out alone in that area on an early Sunday morning, it seems to me.

Agree! Just don't see her going back out after dropping her daughter at home. Her going out again, never made sense to me...

 

[Fishee]

And yet when we examine the known and suspected victims of serial killers, in many, many instances they were women stranded on the side of the road with car problems. Against the odds, they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong moment. It might not be a fact in this case, but it's not an unreasonable possibility to consider. Statistics support it

Not unreasonable just not bloody likely! :seeya:

 

[NC Analyzer]

And yet when we examine the known and suspected victims of serial killers, in many, many instances they were women stranded on the side of the road with car problems. Against the odds, they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong moment. It might not be a fact in this case, but it's not an unreasonable possibility to consider. Statistics support it

When looking at the facts of any case, all possibilities should be considered; however, in this case, the known facts simply don't line up with the serial killer possibility and they never did.
Karen returned to her home at approx 1:30 in the morning with her daughter. It was reported that they changed into their pajamas and went to bed together. Later, the daughter remembers mom placing her into her sister's bed. At 6:00 am her mom was gone.
Now, if Karen actually left the home to go somewhere (unlikely, IMO) and ended up with a flat tire down the road, explain to me why a serial killer would take the time to murder her, move her body to a cemetery 4 miles away and then toss her clothing in yet another location? Not to mention if she had a flat tire on the Hwy, why the dogs didn't pick up her scent around the vehicle? She would have had to get out of the vehicle. Makes no sense. Nothing about this crime has ever indicated a serial killer/random perp.
On the other hand, everything about this crime directly points to the husband.

 

[stillwatersc]

Now, if Karen actually left the home to go somewhere (unlikely, IMO) and ended up with a flat tire down the road, explain to me why a serial killer would take the time to murder her, move her body to a cemetery 4 miles away and then toss her clothing in yet another location? Not to mention if she had a flat tire on the Hwy, why the dogs didn't pick up her scent around the vehicle? She would have had to get out of the vehicle. Makes no sense. Nothing about this crime has ever indicated a serial killer/random perp.

The dogs have been a red light from the beginning - even before Karen was found. There should have been a fresh trail from the car somewhere... if Karen got out of the car at that location.
However, we discuss many possibilities on this forum & I don't think it appropriate to ridicule anyone's theory. Breaking down beside a rural road in the middle of the night makes a woman very vulnerable. From what we know, it doesn't look good for the husband, but I still hope & pray for the sake of the children that their dad wasn't involved.

 

[cocomod]

"This can cause an autopsy to take longer. Also, in this case, examiners are conducting additional detailed exams on certain parts of the body, which is also preventing the release of the body until the exams on those parts are completed."

This statement has me very curious. I wonder what "parts of the body" and what exactly they are looking for.

I still wonder if they are trying to decide if this was accidental death and hiding the body vs murder. I am still here waiting for justice for Karen.

:rose: R.I.P. Karen :rose:

ETA: http://www.stategazette.com/story/1804735.html

 

[cluciano63]

This statement has me very curious. I wonder what "parts of the body" and what exactly they are looking for.

I still wonder if they are trying to decide if this was accidental death and hiding the body vs murder. I am still here waiting for justice for Karen.

:rose: R.I.P. Karen :rose:

Other than tox on tissue samples, I can't imagine anything taking this long. Maybe they just don't want to release cause of death, which they do not have to do, but if that is the case, why not just say so? JMO

 

[officer'swife 2010]

I've been thinking about this case a lot more lately, also since Sheriff Box finally made a statement yesterday, and yes i do believe it takes a long time because the body was decomposed. She was probably murdered that night and would cause her body to be bady decomposed. I really believe her car was driven to the spot she was murdered and whoever killed her left her car beside the road maybe because whoever did this couldnt drive on it any longer because of the tire, who knows? I do think the sheriff has evidence from the car and among other things but he just wants to make sure they have everything before he makes an arrest, maybe i'm wrong, I guess we'll find out. But Karen Swift deserves justice!!!

 

[officer'swife 2010]

I can also understand why it is taking so long, you don't want to rush something and arrest somebody and they are not the killer. He said it takes weeks sometimes, a lot of people aren't giving this Sheriff enough credit, I think he's doing a good job although I do think he needs to give more statements but I'm sure he will once he has more info!! JMO

 

[ThoughtFox]

And yet when we examine the known and suspected victims of serial killers, in many, many instances they were women stranded on the side of the road with car problems. Against the odds, they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong moment. It might not be a fact in this case, but it's not an unreasonable possibility to consider. Statistics support it

Respectfully, if she had been further away from home, I might agree, but the circumstances were different than that:

:cow:

• She was an athlete and runner and within one mile of home.
• There was a farmhouse just across the road, but she never went there.
• She had her phone with her but to our knowledge never called to tell anyone she was stranded.

 

[cluciano63]

I can also understand why it is taking so long, you don't want to rush something and arrest somebody and they are not the killer. He said it takes weeks sometimes, a lot of people aren't giving this Sheriff enough credit, I think he's doing a good job although I do think he needs to give more statements but I'm sure he will once he has more info!! JMO

We are just wondering about the length of time for the autopsy, not the investigation. Autopsies NEVER takes weeks...unless the body is perhaps hundreds of years old, or they are awaiting toxicology studies, which is what I suggested as the only thing I can think of. Even then, they don't usually say the autopsy is not done yet, just that they are awaiting some results, like with Celina Cass.

As I said, they don't have to tell us how she died, but it is odd saying they are still doing the autopsy. JMO

 

[stillwatersc]

Thankfully this Sheriff finally put this "serial killer" theory to bed. <modsnip> to read the barrage of posts suggesting a random SK just "happened" upon this woman when she just "happened" to get a flat tire in the middle of nowhere.
<modsnip>.

<modsnip> I interpreted the comment on "common sense" to apply to those who have tried to play around with alternative theories while waiting for an arrest. Sadly most people are killed by those who they are closest too but random murders do happen. Recently there was a local case where a woman "just happened" to be in a store & a complete stranger "just happened" to notice her & follow her & run her off the road (in a very rural location), kidnap & violently murder her. He left her body in a field close to her house. She managed to get a call off before she lost cell reception that there was someone following her from the store & LE pulled video to id the killer. If there had been no video or she hadn't gotten a call out, this case could have left innocent people under a permanent cloud of suspicion.

 

[stillwatersc]

I've been thinking about this case a lot more lately, also since Sheriff Box finally made a statement yesterday, and yes i do believe it takes a long time because the body was decomposed. She was probably murdered that night and would cause her body to be bady decomposed. I really believe her car was driven to the spot she was murdered and whoever killed her left her car beside the road maybe because whoever did this couldnt drive on it any longer because of the tire, who knows? I do think the sheriff has evidence from the car and among other things but he just wants to make sure they have everything before he makes an arrest, maybe i'm wrong, I guess we'll find out. But Karen Swift deserves justice!!!

Was killed at home or away from the house? If the husband did it, wouldn't it be most likely that the death occurred at home? My main theory is the husband killed her outside, IMO in the woods. He got her outside somehow - maybe some story about the dog being loose or injured & needing help. I've had a bad feeling about those woods ever since I saw one of the bird's eye pictures posted here of the area behind the house with all the trails.

 

[ThoughtFox]

This is the post I was referring to as ridiculing others. I interpreted the comment on "common sense" to apply to those who have tried to play around with alternative theories while waiting for an arrest. Sadly most people are killed by those who they are closest too but random murders do happen. Recently there was a local case where a woman "just happened" to be in a store & a complete stranger "just happened" to notice her & follow her & run her off the road (in a very rural location), kidnap & violently murder her. He left her body in a field close to her house. She managed to get a call off before she lost cell reception that there was someone following her from the store & LE pulled video to id the killer. If there had been no video or she hadn't gotten a call out, this case could have left innocent people under a permanent cloud of suspicion.

But in this case there's no clue as to why she left the house, no trip to a store, no receipts, no camera. To me it's comparing apples and oranges. :cow:

The car was near her house, and the body was found just a few miles away further out in the country but in a place where locals wouldn't go, especially on Halloween night. Indeed, the police never searched there and she was found by the cemetery caretaker after the kudzu died from the frost.

Her body was hidden, not merely "left" somewhere. Whoever did it thought they had covered her up. Most random crime isn't covered up that way, imo. :twocents: I think leaving someone in a random field is vastly different than hiding them in a cemetery near their home, but that's just my opinion.

 

[ThoughtFox]

We are just wondering about the length of time for the autopsy, not the investigation. Autopsies NEVER takes weeks...unless the body is perhaps hundreds of years old, or they are awaiting toxicology studies, which is what I suggested as the only thing I can think of. Even then, they don't usually say the autopsy is not done yet, just that they are awaiting some results, like with Celina Cass.

As I said, they don't have to tell us how she died, but it is odd saying they are still doing the autopsy. JMO

I think it's the State of Tennessee taking their own sweet time with DNA results. :twocents: The state lab is known for being backed up all the time.

 

[NC Analyzer]

But in this case there's no clue as to why she left the house, no trip to a store, no receipts, no camera. To me it's comparing apples and oranges. :cow:

The car was near her house, and the body was found just a few miles away further out in the country but in a place where locals wouldn't go, especially on Halloween night. Indeed, the police never searched there and she was found by the cemetery caretaker after the kudzu died from the frost.

Her body was hidden, not merely "left" somewhere. Whoever did it thought they had covered her up. Most random crime isn't covered up that way, imo. :twocents: I think leaving someone in a random field is vastly different than hiding them in a cemetery near their home, but that's just my opinion.

Thank you. Your facts combined with many other things that are known about this case clearly do not point to a serial killer or random perpetrator.

 

[NC Analyzer]

I think it's the State of Tennessee taking their own sweet time with DNA results. :twocents: The state lab is known for being backed up all the time.

I was thinking that same thing. Backed up in the ME office. This does appear to be taking an unusually long time though. They haven't even released her body for burial. I just can't imagine why they haven't been able to complete the physical findings and at least release the body to the family. Even if they are waiting on test results to come back and don't provide the final report or a cause of death, it just seems like this has gone on far to long.

 

[cluciano63]

I think it's the State of Tennessee taking their own sweet time with DNA results. :twocents: The state lab is known for being backed up all the time.

Even that does not explain an autopsy not being complete. An autopsy is an examination of the body, not dealing with the lab tests that may be needed afterward.

 

[FightTheOstrich]

I think the additional testing and quiet are a result of "the Casey Anthony effect". The State of FL knew she was guilty but IMO failed to convince the jury bc the prosecution felt it was a slam dunk. I feel that bc her guilt was obvious to most Americans that the prosecution just assumed that the jury would reach the same conclusion no matter what was presented to them and I believe they left out key pieces of evidence or facts that would have convicted her. I don't think that other LE agencies are willing to make the same mistake. They are going to have a solid case before they make an arrest, the suspect lawyers up, evidence is revealed, and the case is tried in the court of public
opinion, i.e. Nancy Grace. I believe that LE doesn't want to be seen as incompetent and that they want to make sure that there aren't any holes so that they can prevent the 3 ring circus that accompanied the CA fiasco. The public is sick of watching cases that are sabotaged by lawyers and suspects (think of all the current cases where LE knows the parent knows what happened to the missing child but said parent(s) are either free or delaying their trial because of lack of evidence or slick lawyers). The State of TN doesn't have the best record as of late and I'm sure they can't afford to screw this one up. Maybe it's just wishful thinking but I want to believe that the delays are the result of LE and prosecutors building a solid case and that they have every intention of nailing the SOB that murdered Karen. I'd rather have them triple checking and collecting every conceivable piece of evidence available if it means a guilty verdict. I'm so sick of watching the guilty go free.

MOO