PROVIDENCE, R.I.—A man charged with killing his wife while scuba diving in the British Virgin Islands will be sent back to the Caribbean to stand trial on a murder charge.
David Swain, a former Jamestown town council member, waived extradition during a quick court appearance on Friday. A federal prosecutor said he expected Swain to be returned to the Caribbean within weeks.
Swain has maintained his innocence in the 1999 death of his wife, Shelley Tyre, during a scuba diving trip off the island of Tortola.
Caribbean authorities initially said they considered Tyre's death accidental "unless proven otherwise" but reopened their investigation after a civil jury in 2006 found Swain responsible for Tyre's death and ordered him to pay her parents million of dollars in damages.
Swain was charged with murder last year and has been in custody since his arrest in November. He appeared in court in a tan jumpsuit and spoke only to answer routine questions from a judge.
Swain's attorney, Jeffrey Denner, said his client was anxious to return to the Caribbean to stand trial.
Asked outside court whether Swain missed his wife, Denner replied: "He misses his freedom right now, and I'm sure he loved his wife and on some level must be missing her."
