David Swift files civil rights lawsuit alleging wrongful prosecution in wife’s death
DYERSBURG, Tenn. (WMC) – David Swift has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Dyer County, Sheriff Jeff Box, District Attorney Danny Goodman and multiple sheriff’s office investigators, alleging he was wrongfully prosecuted in connection with the death of his wife, Karen Swift.
Karen Swift disappeared around Halloween in 2011 and was later found dead. David Swift was arrested in August 2022 in connection with her murder. A jury acquitted him of the most serious charges in June 2024 but deadlocked on a lesser voluntary manslaughter count. The lawsuit says prosecutors sought to retry that charge until it was dismissed in March 2025 as untimely.
Swift is now suing Box, several sheriff’s office investigators and Goodman. In the complaint, Swift alleges investigators focused on him early, then fabricated evidence, coerced witnesses and withheld exculpatory material to obtain indictments and continue the case.
Swift is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and a jury trial.
Action News 5 has reached out to the defendants for a comment.
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