Swift enters not guilty plea to wife’s murder in 2011

DYERSBURG, Tenn. (KFVS) - The man charged in connection with the murder of his former wife in 2011 pleads not guilty in a Dyer County Courtroom.

David Swift appeared before Circuit Court Judge Mark Hayes on Wednesday, August 10 at 9 a.m., waived the formal reading of the indictment charging him with premeditated first-degree murder in the death of his former wife, Karen Swift, and entered a plea of not guilty.

The judge assigned Swift a public defender, but said he could hire his own attorney at any time.

Swift is being held without bond, but a bond hearing could be scheduled in the near future.

His next court appearance is set for Tuesday, October 4.

Swift was arrested on Monday in Alabama, where he is now living, and extradited back to Dyer County on Tuesday.

Dyer County Sheriff Jeff Box said Swift was allegedly the last person to see Karen Swift, a mother of four, alive after she returned home from a Halloween party on Oct. 30, 2011 at the Dyersburg Country Club at The Farms.

Her car was found abandoned with one flat tire on the side of the road less than a half-mile from her house.

Karen Swift’s body was later found on Dec. 10, 2011, near Bledsoe Cemetery.

The Dyer County Sheriff’s Office turned over their evidence after concluding their investigation in October of 2019.

The cause of Karen Swift’s death has not been released.

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