On the night of October 29, 2011, the small town of Dyersburg, Tennessee was alive with Halloween excitement. That spirit turned really dark after the disappearance of Karen Swift, a 44-year-old mother of four. All that remained was his car, which was found abandoned by two hunters on a country road the next morning, and his two broken cell phones, which were found near a neighbor’s house.
Six weeks later, what began as a missing persons case turned into a murder mystery when a caretaker near Dyer County’s Bledsoe Cemetery found Karen’s body under a tangled vine. The autopsy showed that he had suffered blunt force trauma to the head.
Terry McCreight, lead investigator for the Dyer County Sheriff’s Office, takes ABC News’ Juju Chang to the location near the Tennessee highway where investigators found the body of Dyer County mother Karen Swift.
ABC News
The case went cold, with no arrests made for more than a decade, leaving a shadow of Halloween in Dyersburg and haunting the community. On August 8, 2022, the cold case thawed when police announced that they had arrested Karen’s husband, David Swift. After being indicted by a grand jury, David was charged with first degree premeditated murder. He pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Watch the “20/20” episode “Her Last Halloween” Friday, Nov. 1 at 9 p.m. on ABC, and beginning Nov. 2 on Hulu.
The arrest shocked many, including David and Karen’s then 20-year-old daughter Ashley.
“I remember, you know, trying to figure out why,” Ashley Swift said in a new interview with “20/20.” “Why right now? Why is this happening after all these years?”
David’s trial began on May 28, 2024. Community members wondered what evidence would explain his sudden arrest after 11 years of silence.
On the first day of the trial, the prosecution warned the jury that they would not present this as a DNA case, nor that their key evidence would be fingerprints or ballistics tests.
Ashely Swift, daughter of Karen and David Swift, talks in an ABC “20/20” interview.
ABC News
District Attorney Danny Goodman painted a portrait of a rocky marriage, with Karen filing for divorce three weeks before her disappearance. The two had separated in the past, even divorcing in 2000 before remarrying the same year, but the prosecution suggested this time was more permanent.
On the morning of October 29, 2011, the night before Karen disappeared, she rejected David’s offer of reconciliation to have dinner with him later that evening. The state’s theory was that the rejection was “eat(ing)” at David, Assistant District Attorney Tim Boxx said at trial, and Boxx speculated that David was beginning to understand that Karen was really leaving him, “and this time, it’s forever. .”
Daniel Taylor, David’s defense attorney, argued that David’s attempts to reconcile with Karen should not be read as an indication that he felt rejected, but as evidence of his hope for a rekindled relationship.
“Did David think maybe they were going to work it out again like they did the first time?” Taylor asked at David’s trial. “Was he hopeful for that? Yes.”
The prosecution also alleged that David sought to monitor and control his wife’s movements during the final days of their marriage.
Kelly Essman, David Swift’s ex-wife, talks in an exclusive ABC “20/20” interview.
ABC News
In response, the defense worked to convince the jury that David’s alleged actions did not exist in a vacuum.
Karen’s friends and family alleged that Karen had assumed a new identity in the time leading up to her murder. He became involved with a new circle of friends who frequented The Farms Golf Club in Dyersburg. He reportedly started drinking and going out more.
“Karen’s demeanor changed with this new group,” David’s friend Kim Greene told “20/20” in an exclusive interview. “He was determined to have fun with them instead of staying at home with the local kids…(David) was just there to see where his wife was.”
Taylor also questioned the prosecution’s premise that David was “in control” of his wife. Taylor stated that he had access to their joint bank account and that Karen could go wherever she wanted. He also insisted that David often controlled Karen, “and it made her nervous”, but there was no violence.
David echoed that sentiment in his interview on “20/20.”
“I never raised a hand to anybody, now or ever,” David told ABC News’ Juju Chang. “And I certainly wouldn’t do it to my wife or the mother of my children… It’s just not in my nature.”
David’s trial ended on June 6 with a not guilty verdict of first degree premeditated murder and second degree murder. However, the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter, resulting in a deadlock on that charge.
Karen Swift, a mother of four from Tennessee, disappeared on October 30, 2011.
Tracie Barksdale
The jury was deadlocked on hearing the harassment charges David faces against his ex-wife, Kelly Essman, in Jefferson County, Alabama. Essman met Christian Mingle on the dating site in 2014, three years after Karen’s death, and the two married in May 2016.
Essman, who has not shared her story publicly, spoke with “20/20” in an exclusive interview.
“I see how easily I talked to (David) and believed everything he told me,” Essman said. “And I had the sense that it was honest. Why didn’t I see it? How can I trust that I’ll be able to see anything else?”
“20/20” obtained footage of what appears to be David at Essman’s residence in the middle of the night when they were already separated.
“I turned up the feed,” Essman told “20/20.” “And there he was in my backyard, in the middle of the night … he had to drive 40 minutes, one way, to get to my house.”
David Swift speaks via video call from the Weakley County Detention Center for an ABC “20/20” interview.
ABC News
David was charged with felony stalking in Alabama in July 2023 and has yet to press charges. His attorney did not respond to “20/20’s” request for comment on the case.
Despite the allegations against him, David’s friends and family said they saw a gentle person.
“David is a very kind person,” Kim Green said of her friend. “He wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
Ashley Swift also recalled her father’s compassionate moments, talking to “20/20” about a time she saw him helping a mom pay for groceries during the holidays.
“He was putting the thing back when he was checking,” Ashley recalled. “And my dad ended up covering everything so his kids could have a good Christmas. Things like that really stand out to me.”
Karen and David Swift are seen together in this photo from 2010.
Tracie Barksdale
On October 15, the Tennessee Court of Appeals denied David’s defense team’s motion to dismiss the case related to Karen’s murder, ordering a new trial on the charge of voluntary manslaughter. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge.
When Karen Swift first disappeared in 2011, the community of Dyersburg was gripped by a deep hunger for answers – answers that could offer closure for them and justice for Karen.
After 13 years and a trial, this longing remains unfulfilled. But Karen’s memory — and the hopes of those who love her — promise to live on.
“Finally, I know the truth about my family,” his daughter Ashley told “20/20.” “And I know my mother would want me to keep fighting for her.”
