Did Scuba Shop Owner Drown His Wife?

November 15, 2007

The owner of a scuba diving shop was arrested Wednesday for the 1999 scuba diving death of his wife and could be extradited to the British Virgin Islands to face a charge of murder, federal authorities said.

David Swain, a former town councilman from Jamestown, appeared briefly before a federal magistrate, who ordered him detained pending an extradition hearing scheduled for next week. He has always denied killing his wife, Shelley Tyre, even though a jury in a civil trial last year found him responsible for her death.

Swain, 51, faces one charge of murder in the British Virgin Islands. Authorities there issued a warrant for his arrest and are seeking his extradition.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Vilker wrote in a complaint there was "overwhelming circumstantial evidence proving that Swain murdered his wife." He said that evidence included Swain's behavior after Tyre's death, testimony from medical experts ruling out any other cause of natural or accidental death and an apparent financial motivation he allegedly had.
In addition, Vilker wrote, experts have said the condition Tyre's scuba equipment was found in "indicate that a violent struggle took place."

Tyre died in what appeared to be a scuba diving accident off the island of Tortola.

But in a civil trial last year, a jury found that Swain killed her and awarded her parents, who had filed a wrongful-death lawsuit, millions of dollars in compensatory and punitive damages. After the verdict, island authorities, who had initially classified the death as "accidental unless proven otherwise" said they would take another look at the circumstances.

At trial, J. Renn Olenn, a lawyer for Tyre's parents, argued Swain killed his wife for money and was involved a romantic relationship with another woman. Olenn contended that Swain had approached his wife from behind, cut off her air supply and held her in the water until she drowned.

"At first, stunned disbelief," Olenn told reporters Wednesday when asked how Tyre's parents reacted to Swain's arrest. "That developed into a sense of overwhelming relief." He added: "It was beyond a doubt in the civil case that he committed this murder."

Swain has called Tyre's death a "tragic accident" and has said he had nothing to do with it. "It's a grand story, but it just isn't true," Swain told jurors at his trial.

Swain, who was led into the courtroom in handcuffs, said little during his court appearance on Wednesday. His attorney asked that he be released on bail, saying he had strong ties to the community and was not a flight risk. "Certainly, if he was a risk of flight and he had committed murder, he would have acted upon that now," said assistant federal public defender Kevin Fitzgerald. But U.S. Magistrate Judge Lincoln Almond denied the request and ordered him detained.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/Story?id=3870249&page=2