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Suspect in slaying seeks new civil trial

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Associated Press / April 10, 2008

PROVIDENCE - A Jamestown councilman jailed on murder charges in the British Virgin Islands deserves a new civil trial in Rhode Island because he was forced to represent himself, his lawyer argued during an appeal to the state Supreme Court.

David Swain faces murder charges for allegedly drowning his wife, Shelley Tyre, during a 1999 scuba diving trip in Tortola. He has maintained his innocence.

Law enforcement officials in Tortola initially declared Tyre's death an accident, and then reopened the case after her family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Rhode Island against Swain. In 2006, a civil jury decided Swain was responsible for Tyre's death and awarded her family millions.

Swain's new lawyer, Anthony Leone, appealed the verdict. He argued Tuesday that a judge should have delayed the trial because Swain's original lawyer was ill with cancer. Swain decided to represent himself at trial.

Renn Olenn, a lawyer for the Tyre family, said Swain never voiced objections at trial and cannot raise them now.

During the arguments, Chief Justice Frank Williams questioned how the court could order a new civil trial when Swain is no longer in the country.

© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.

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