HAMER — A husband and wife who were found dead inside their Dillon County residence Monday afternoon have been identified.
Walter Swaner was 84, while his wife, Mary Swaner, is estimated to have been 80, Dillon County Sheriff’s Capt. Cliff Arnette said.
Sheriff Major Hulon said investigators were called to the couple's house on Sparrow Drive in Hamer, a town near the Carolinas’ border, after noon.
A family member stopped by the home and saw the Swaners lying on the floor inside, Hulon said.
Investigators aren’t saying how or why they think the couple died, citing the ongoing investigation.
A crime scene unit from the State Law Enforcement Division is processing evidence from the scene.
Neighbors said the couple moved to Dillon County from New York about 20 years ago, and described them as outgoing and involved in the community.
“They were the elderly family that you could go to, to talk to, to get advice from and they would never turn you away,” said Betsy Roberts, who lives two houses down from the Swaners.
The couple’s absence is already felt by members of the community.
“They were old, but they were out and about, not shut up in there house,” Roberts said. “It’s hard to think that they’re gone.”
The Swaners’ deaths are the third and fourth homicides reported in Dillon County this year. All victims are older than 60.
Three suspects — including a 15-year-old boy — were charged in connection with the death of a 75-year-old Dillon woman reported missing Aug. 18.
Mary Alice Stutts was reported missing from her West Calhoun Street home by a friend who came to check on her. Stutts’ body was discovered later that day on a rural dirt road.
Brothers Damian Inman, 17, and Lorenzo Inman, 18, are charged with murder, first-degree burglary, armed robbery, kidnapping and grand larceny in connection with the crime, Arnette said in a previous interview. The 15-year-old is charged with murder.
A neighbor found 61-year-old Veronica Miranda dead inside her Annie Lane mobile near Latta on April 30.
Richard Sweat of Latta was arrested just days later and charged with murder in connection with her death.
The cause of Miranda’s death hasn’t been released.
Anyone with any information on the Hamer case is asked to call the sheriff’s office at (843) 841-3721 or the state Crime Stoppers hotline at (888) CRIME SC (274-6372). Callers need not reveal their identities.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement