Underwater Homicide Or Accident? The Mysterious Case Of David Swain

A diving death that occurred well over a decade ago continues to be the subject of endless controversy. As divers, we’re taught to look out for ourselves and our dive buddies; could it be possible for one diver to intentionally murder his wife while diving in the beautiful British Virgin Islands? Here, we’ll take a look at the notorious case of David Swain.

The “Near-Perfect Murder,” or a Deadly Accident?

In 1999, Shelley Tyre and her husband David Swain shared a liveaboard vacation with a group of friends. While diving the Twin Tugs wreck site, something went horribly awry. In an interview with 48 Hours Mystery, Swain said the couple swam the agreed upon course until they reached the wreck, then went their separate ways. He said he had no idea what caused Shelley’s death, because he was not with her when she died. Tyre frequently dove solo; in fact, it was their standard practice to pooh-pooh the buddy system when wreck diving.

After being interviewed by the police, David Swain was released and he took custody of Shelley’s body, which he loaded onto a flight back to Rhode Island, where the couple lived. He called his family and Shelley Tyre’s parents to tell them she had died; the entire family was upset, and Tyre’s parents could not understand how the accident could have happened. 

Once home in Rhode Island, David Swain seemed to be doing very well; in fact, a witness named Don Badger said he was “too elated about this. This guy’s too happy.”  After David Swain collected $600,000 from Tyre’s estate, he began spending ostentatiously, taking vacations, and dating.  Shelly Tyre’s parents were grieving though; and they were angry. They began making murder allegations. 

A year after Shelley died, her family hired an attorney, sending him and a team of experts to Tortola in search of answers.  It was discovered that David Swain had performed CPR on his wife, but no one can be certain how long he worked to revive her. He then made a distress call, but when dive boat captain Keith Royle arrived on scene, Swain told him his wife was dead and insisted that no extraordinary measures should be taken. Swain’s daughter, Jen Bloom, says her father simply wanted to preserve his wife’s dignity in death and get her back to shore. 

Experts examined Shelley’s diving equipment, and discovered that her mask was strangely damaged. According to Engineer Bill Oliver, who designs scuba gear, the mask looked as if it had been involved in a tug-of-war. Sergeant Jeff Morgan, of the San Bernardino County, CA Sheriff’s Department looked at evidence for 48 Hours. “Shelley didn’t die in an accident,” he told reporters. “She was murdered.”  Morgan went on to say that he believed David had swum up behind Shelley and shut off her air supply, then held her until she struggled before reaching up and grabbing the mask. He believes Swain then tore the mask from Tyre’s face and continued holding onto her until she stopped struggling. 

Tortola authorities did not rule Shelley’s death a homicide, but her parents were not satisfied with the ruling. In 2006,they filed a wrongful death suit in Rhode Island civil court. The Rhode Island jury found Swain responsible and awarded Tyre’s parents $3.5 million. After this ruling, the Tyres’ attorney convinced authorities in Tortola to reopen the murder case;  one and a half years later, Swain was charged with murder and ultimately was sentenced to serve 25 years of a life sentence in Tortola. 

Ultimately, David Swain’s conviction was overturned because the trial judge had in essence told the jury to ignore the defense case, biasing them toward the prosecution.  Swain agreed to interviews after being released from jail. Shelley Tyre’s surviving family members have since established a special scholarship in her name at Waltham, MA’s Brandeis University.