ricki
04-02-2008, 02:58 PM
Life really is stranger than fiction.
http://bvibeacon.com/main/images/stories/swain.jpg
From: http://bvibeacon.com/
U.S. man in BVI court on charges of killing wife underwater
By JOSEPH TSIDULKO
Friday, February 15th 2008
A magistrate judge in Tortola on Tuesday remanded to custody without the option of bail a Rhode Island man charged with drowning his wife while scuba diving.
David Swain, who did not challenge his extradition to the British Virgin Islands from Rhode Island, arrived in the Caribbean on Wednesday to face charges of murdering his wife during a 1999 vacation.
Senior Magistrate Valerie Stephens read the charges against the 52-year-old dive shop owner at Thursday's hearing. Swain will await an inquiry at Her Majesty's Prison at Balsam Ghut.
Federal agents took Swain into custody in November after the United Kingdom made a diplomatic request for extradition.
Prosecutors in Rhode Island wrote in a complaint that there was "overwhelming circumstantial evidence" proving Swain's involvement in his wife's death.
Swain fell under suspicion soon after 46-year-old Shelly Tyre died underwater while diving the Twin Wrecks off Cooper Island on March 12, 1999.
Swain surfaced without his wife about 20 minutes after the dive began. He found her a few minutes later with her diving mask out of place and her diving fins off her feet, according to court documents.
BVI authorities launched a criminal investigation into the death, focusing on the former Jamestown Town Council member.
But Swain was later allowed to leave the island and return home after investigators said they could not rule out the possibility that the 46-year-old woman accidentally drowned.
Swain always has maintained his wife's death was accidental.
In 2006, however, a civil jury in Rhode Island Superior Court found Swain responsible for Tyre's death and awarded her family more than $6 million.
Tyre's parents sued Swain for wrongful death. They contend they do not believe their former son-in-law's claim their daughter's drowning was an accident.
At the civil trial, the Tyres' attorney argued that Swain swam up to his wife, cut her air supply and then kept her from surfacing until she was dead.
He did it for money, the plaintiff's attorney argued. Swain was involved with another woman at the time, and he knew he would get no money in a divorce because of a prenuptial agreement, the attorney said.
The statements of several expert witnesses were later made available to BVI authorities. With the new evidence, the BVI attorney general reopened the inquiry, eventually securing the arrest warrant.
Some of the expert witnesses who took the stand in Rhode Island testified that the condition of Tyre's fin strap, snorkel and mask suggested a violent underwater struggle.
On Thursday, Senior Crown Counsel Grace Henry-McKenzie outlined the case against Swain, one that relies on circumstantial evidence gathered during investigations by the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force and through depositions from witnesses who testified in the civil trial, Henry-McKenzie said.
Under the BVI's system of justice, the Crown must first present its evidence to a magistrate during a preliminary inquiry.
After the inquiry, the magistrate rules whether there is sufficient evidence for the defendant to be bound over for trial at the High Court.
Swain's preliminary inquiry is set for April 17.
- Contact Joseph Tsidulko at 774-8772 ext. 332 or e-mail jtsidulko@dailynews.vi. Angela Burns Piper contributed to this report.
http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article_home?id=17620759
More at: http://www.projo.com/news/content/projo_20060221_swain21.d9bdb09.html
http://www.vicharteryachts.com/Caribbean_Dive_Sites/Dive_Wreck_Beata_lg.jpg
From: http://www.vicharteryachts.com/British_Virgin_Islands_dive_sites.html
http://www.stjohnadventures.com/images/BVI_map.jpg
From: http://www.stjohnadventures.com/
http://bvibeacon.com/main/images/stories/swain.jpg
From: http://bvibeacon.com/
U.S. man in BVI court on charges of killing wife underwater
By JOSEPH TSIDULKO
Friday, February 15th 2008
A magistrate judge in Tortola on Tuesday remanded to custody without the option of bail a Rhode Island man charged with drowning his wife while scuba diving.
David Swain, who did not challenge his extradition to the British Virgin Islands from Rhode Island, arrived in the Caribbean on Wednesday to face charges of murdering his wife during a 1999 vacation.
Senior Magistrate Valerie Stephens read the charges against the 52-year-old dive shop owner at Thursday's hearing. Swain will await an inquiry at Her Majesty's Prison at Balsam Ghut.
Federal agents took Swain into custody in November after the United Kingdom made a diplomatic request for extradition.
Prosecutors in Rhode Island wrote in a complaint that there was "overwhelming circumstantial evidence" proving Swain's involvement in his wife's death.
Swain fell under suspicion soon after 46-year-old Shelly Tyre died underwater while diving the Twin Wrecks off Cooper Island on March 12, 1999.
Swain surfaced without his wife about 20 minutes after the dive began. He found her a few minutes later with her diving mask out of place and her diving fins off her feet, according to court documents.
BVI authorities launched a criminal investigation into the death, focusing on the former Jamestown Town Council member.
But Swain was later allowed to leave the island and return home after investigators said they could not rule out the possibility that the 46-year-old woman accidentally drowned.
Swain always has maintained his wife's death was accidental.
In 2006, however, a civil jury in Rhode Island Superior Court found Swain responsible for Tyre's death and awarded her family more than $6 million.
Tyre's parents sued Swain for wrongful death. They contend they do not believe their former son-in-law's claim their daughter's drowning was an accident.
At the civil trial, the Tyres' attorney argued that Swain swam up to his wife, cut her air supply and then kept her from surfacing until she was dead.
He did it for money, the plaintiff's attorney argued. Swain was involved with another woman at the time, and he knew he would get no money in a divorce because of a prenuptial agreement, the attorney said.
The statements of several expert witnesses were later made available to BVI authorities. With the new evidence, the BVI attorney general reopened the inquiry, eventually securing the arrest warrant.
Some of the expert witnesses who took the stand in Rhode Island testified that the condition of Tyre's fin strap, snorkel and mask suggested a violent underwater struggle.
On Thursday, Senior Crown Counsel Grace Henry-McKenzie outlined the case against Swain, one that relies on circumstantial evidence gathered during investigations by the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force and through depositions from witnesses who testified in the civil trial, Henry-McKenzie said.
Under the BVI's system of justice, the Crown must first present its evidence to a magistrate during a preliminary inquiry.
After the inquiry, the magistrate rules whether there is sufficient evidence for the defendant to be bound over for trial at the High Court.
Swain's preliminary inquiry is set for April 17.
- Contact Joseph Tsidulko at 774-8772 ext. 332 or e-mail jtsidulko@dailynews.vi. Angela Burns Piper contributed to this report.
http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article_home?id=17620759
More at: http://www.projo.com/news/content/projo_20060221_swain21.d9bdb09.html
http://www.vicharteryachts.com/Caribbean_Dive_Sites/Dive_Wreck_Beata_lg.jpg
From: http://www.vicharteryachts.com/British_Virgin_Islands_dive_sites.html
http://www.stjohnadventures.com/images/BVI_map.jpg
From: http://www.stjohnadventures.com/