Friday's Internet Edition, September 10, 2010.
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| John Swart |
News editor - A Copperas Cove man was arrested Tuesday on charges of murder in connection with an almost 15-year old-case.
Officers from the Coryell County Sheriff’s Office and Cold Case Unit arrested John Frederick Swart, employed by the Coryell County Appraisal District since 1991, Tuesday at 10:50 a.m. for the 1988 murder of his wife, Neva Ann Swart.
Justice of the Peace Jimmy Wood arraigned Swart, currently being held in the Coryell County jail, and bond was set at $100,000. Swart was arrested at his place of employment, located on South 2nd St.
The arrest was a result of an ongoing reinvestigation of the case, said Coryell County Sheriff Roger Faught. After his election, he started reviewing unsolved cases, he said.
In this case, several witnesses were reinterviewed. At the time of the homicide, technology for DNA testing was not available, said Faught. But after reopening the case, DNA evidence was submitted and the sheriff’s office received positive results, he said. Evidence proved that Neva Swart was dead before she was placed in the car, added Faught.
Swart has been the only suspect in this case, he said.
Around 2 a.m. on Aug. 26, 1988, a traveler en route to Gatesville saw a burning 1982 Plymouth Sapporo in a ditch along the road and called the sheriff’s department, according to an Aug. 28, 1988, issue of The Leader-Press.
Investigators from the sheriff’s department and the Department of Public Safety found an unidentified body burned beyond recognition in the car. Justice of the Peace Norman Storm pronounced the person dead at the scene, noting, “We couldn’t even tell if it was a man or a woman.”
Storm ordered an autopsy and the body was sent to the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office for positive identification. Two months later, following an Oct. 26 inquest, Storm ruled Neva Swart’s death a homicide.
The autopsy report revealed that Swart was dead before the fire started in the car. The information received during the inquest showed that Neva Swart was intoxicated at the time of her death, but not enough to be fatal. She had no broken bones.
The inquest also revealed that the fire was a result of flammable hydrocarbon and did not begin by accident. A flammable substance was found inside the vehicle on the floor. The fire appeared to have spread from the passenger compartment to the engine and not vice versa.
Faught, who was present during the arrest of John Swart, said the man appeared to be surprised and relieved. Swart is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Texas State Guard, based in Austin, and holds masters and doctorate degrees in criminal justice, he said.
Swart is on a suicide watch while in the county’s custody, said Faught. “But that’s typical for anyone in jail on murder charges,” he said. He added that he expects Swart to bond out.
Faught said he is "real pleased with the closure of this case.” The sheriff’s department has three more unsolved cases to reopen, he said, and the 1999 murder case of Raymond Litchfield is next. Faught added that, ironically, Litchfield’s spouse is the main suspect in this case as well.
Swart’s case will be presented to the grand jury today at 1 p.m.