Five days after a 6-year-old child Faye Swetlik was found dead in a wooded area not far from it Casey, South Carolina at home, officers answered several unanswered questions in the murder investigation.
Lexington County forensic doctor’s press conference Tuesday afternoon Margaret Fisher said the cause of Swetlik ‘s death was suffocation, which means that its air supply is interrupted. According to the autopsy results, she died within hours of her disappearance. Faye’s body was not very long where it was found, he said.
Until the investigator provided any further details on the case, Casey’s director of public safety Byron Snellgrove said police believe Coty Scott Taylor– The 30-year-old neighbor, whose body was found shortly after the discovery of Faye – kidnapped and killed Svetik alone.
Neither Snellgrove nor Fisher used Taylor’s name during the press conference. Fisher said he would talk about Faye’s autopsy out of respect for his family.
Snellgrove said shortly after finding Faye’s body around 10:30 a.m. Thursday, neighbors alerted police to a man bleeding on his back porch in Piccadilly Circus 602.
By the time the officers arrived, Taylor had been found dead. Law enforcement officials told FITSNews on Saturday I believe Taylor committed suicide – which was confirmed on Tuesday. Autopsy results said Taylor, cutting his throat.
At the press conference, Snelgrove published more details about what led the officers to the two bodies.
As part of a search for Faye throughout the neighborhood, police closely monitored the paramedics as they collected garbage in the neighborhood and “methodically” searched trash cans for evidence.
Inside Taylor’s trash can, police found a dotted boot belonging to Faye and a soup ladle containing dirt. Snellgrove said he immediately warned search teams to scan the area around Taylor’s house, which led him to the forest where Snellgrove found Faye.
Asked what he found important for the soup ladle, Snelgrove replied that he had a “premonition” that it was related to the case. He was right.
After the two bodies were found, DNA evidence linked Taylor and his home to Swetlik’s death, Snellgrove said.
What do we know about Taylor?
Snellgrove said police spoke to Taylor on Wednesday afternoon and he gave the agents permission to search his home. He said these agents saw nothing to alert them, nor did Taylor say anything to indicate he had anything to do with the case.
Examining surveillance footage from the area, Snelgrove said investigators “found Coty doing some things that are suspicious of us.” He did not explain what these “suspicious things” were.
Snelgrove said they still did not know where Faye’s body was between Monday and Thursday. He said he believed Taylor had moved her body to the wooded area “under the roof of darkness” early Thursday morning.
Snelgrove said Taylor had a roommate.
“We were in contact with the roommate,” Snelgrove said. “We have nothing to show that he knew anything about what was happening and that he was not so much at the residence during that time (Schwelik is missing).”
In a previous press conference, Evan Antley of Casey’s public safety department said Taylor was “not a friend” or a member of Faye’s family, but just a neighbor who lives in Churchill Heights, less than 150 feet from Faye’s home. He said Taylor had no criminal record and “was not known to law enforcement.”
According to him Facebook page, Coty Taylor graduated from Blufton High School in Blufton, South Carolina. He briefly studied mathematics at the University of South Carolina at Columbia and worked as a manager at Jimmy John’s.
Before her body was discovered, Faye was last seen playing outside her home Londonderry Lane in Casey around 3:45 p.m. Monday. Casey’s public safety officials said Faye returned home by bus yesterday and arrived at her home “like any other day.”
Faye’s mother called 911 around 5pm on Monday after learning her daughter was missing.
More than 250 employees from over 20 law enforcement agencies, including FBI and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) has been tirelessly searching the entire Churchill Heights neighborhood for three days last week. Tracking dogs and helicopters were used in the search.
During the investigation, police officers followed 283 instructions.
Snellgrove said every door of every Churchill Heights residence was knocked on and staff returned to each house until all residents were interviewed.
Officials kept their search extremely limited in the course of their investigation – extending exactly within a 1-mile radius of Churchill Heights.
“I would like to thank every member of this community who called, gave information and prayed for Faye and us,” Snelgrove said. “I assure you that every prayer was felt and appreciated.
The investigation is ongoing.
Funeral kit
Funeral service for Faye Swetlik is set for this Friday.
Diligent Towing and Transportation LLC, a company that has been in direct communication with the Swetlik family, announced on Facebook that Faye Swetlik’s funeral will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 21, at Casey Baptist Church.
According to the Facebook post (below), the family has asked that no one wear black, but instead have bright colors (pink and purple are her favorite colors). They demanded that the general public not arrive at the funeral home before the church service, the publication said.
The Kauman-Harman Funeral Home told WIS News 10 that everyone funeral expenses will be paid.
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