and swain himself chose not to appear in court. why didn t you take a civil suit? and what seems to outsiders, more seriously? it looks like you push this off it was a very serious event. in the civil world, he who has the most money, always, comes out on top. and not only did they have the most money, i had no lawyer. so, where was there a chance of me winning? at the end of the trial, david swain did make a surprise appearance. and, a last-ditch effort to defend himself. it s a grand story, but it s just not true. then, he called his sole witness. his daughter, jennifer, who described how her father showed genuine emotion when shelley was lost. he told us the story about shelley drowning. you are tearful. and angry. but, it wasn t enough. have we reached a verdict? we have. david was found responsible
to the criminal trial i thought, please, god, let someone find a way back to letting people know how wonderful she was. that special light of shelley tire, deeply missed by so many who knew her. was her husband, david swain, responsible for taking it from the world? or, was he an innocent man, whose private ways had made a tragic accident, only look like murder? a jury, in a courtroom, would soon decide. but, not before david himself took the stand, to answer questions from his island attorney. mr. swain, when you went on the dive was surely tire, on that 12th of march, of 1999, did you kill shelley tire? i did not, could not, would not dream of taking the rock of my life out of the world. no, i did not. did you, in any way, through the course of that dive,
she had not seen them before. so, that s what started things. shelley was a bundle of energy. a five foot nothing teacher, and school administrator. she was as a basis, as she was quiet. so, when they started dating, david was only too happy to show shelling the waters, where he pursued his life s passions. teaching scuba, and kayaking, through his dive shop in jamestown rhode island. here he is a 1997, giving a kayak lesson. it was an easy, figure eight stroke. he was known to his friends, and customers, as an honest businessman, and an active member of the community. likewise, the people in shelley circle raved about her. school parents, like colleen. she was effervescent. she was always on the move, always on the go. shelley, who, memorably, war above the caution to the school once, was seen as nothing left of a gift. they were there with their academy, and suburban boston,
be insole off of existence of a surprise to be told, no thanks. he declined my offer of cpr, and oxygen. i thought it was a little strange. . another prosecution witness was phil brad. the island dive shop owner, who rented the couple their scuba gear. and, who collected shelley scattered, and broken equipment, from the ocean floor. brown said, when later came into a shop after the so-called accident, and told him, to give away charlize dive gear. added, upset the prosecutor, and you had a husband who wanted his wife s dive gear deep sixth before a proper investigation. a husband who did not really try to revive his weight, and a husband who wanted her dad. but, tides in the caribbean, like everywhere else, run in, and out. for the first time in ten years, rumors, and lawsuits, a jury would hear a true defense from david. and, the prosecutors account, that seemed as clear as a virgin island dive site, would
she was a local chiropractor, and diver who frequented david shop. tortola jurors heard from memory that david had tried to kiss her during an evening drinking wine at her home, but she, had rejected his advantage, because he was married. so this is the classic motivation, the classic ingredient of murder, sometimes. the other woman? yes, that is the motive that we advanced. then, there were the letters of swain wrote to marry. some of them, before his wife s death. in one, he asks, a particular playmate to join him in vermont. he calls her soulmate mary. another, he signs with, long i love, david. most ominously, this one, dated five months before shelby s death which reads, life has definitely gotten more complicated. i am wanting to be with you, but i cannot change this mess i have anytime soon. why not just divorce? because, there nuptial agreement prevented either david, or shelley, from receiving money from the other