Friday, May 4, 2012

Following the Trail That Led to the Mysterious Death of Alabama Attorney Chace Swatek

We continue to receive communications from readers that indicate they are baffled about the death of Pelham, Alabama, attorney Chace Swatek. That's understandable because, according to a spokesman, the Pelham Police Department remains baffled as to why a 35-year-old lawyer who seemed to be in good health wound up dead behind a stack of water pipes near a busy intersection in Shelby County.

We do know that Swatek died while in the midst of a two-mile round-trip walk from a house he rented in the Mallard Pointe subdivision to a CVS Pharmacy store. We know that Swatek made a purchase at the CVS, and a bag holding a few items was found near his body. The Pelham PD has not disclosed what was in the bag, pending the results of a toxicology report that is expected to take six months to a year.

Solid answers to questions about Chace Swatek's death are proving elusive. But we thought readers might find it useful to follow us on the path that Mr. Swatek took on the day he died.

The following video is not of the highest quality. In the middle portion--from the moment we turn out of  Mallard Pointe until we reach the intersection of Shelby County 35 and 52--my narration is drowned out by wind and road noise. Our movie-editing software is limited--as is my ability to edit movies--so we decided to go with the video and all of its shortcomings. Viewers might want to lower the volume in the middle portion of the video because the wind and road noise can be annoying. My apologies in advance.

The video runs 10:26, and the first 4:30 and the last 3:30 or so turned out pretty well. The middle portion is best viewed with the sound turned down.

My hope is that our imperfect video will at least give you a feel for the area surrounding the curious death of an Alabama lawyer.


6 comments:

Anonymous said...

That look like a bit much walking to me. Maybe somebody took him there and then dumped the body after whatever happened that probably will be covered up.

legalschnauzer said...

It is a pretty serious little hike, especially when you consider that it was mid February. The weather was mild that day, but Mr. Swatek was spotted in the CVS in the 4 to 4:30 p.m. range. At that time of year, it's starting to get dark at that hour, and traffic is picking up. If he was on foot, it certainly was a curious decision to walk. My understanding is that Mr. Swatek drove a Mercedes, so some nice wheels were available--unless it was in the shop or there was some reason he didn't want to get behind the wheel. His body was found on the morning of Feb. 15, which means he probably died on the evening of Feb. 14.

Anonymous said...

A little cool for a 2 mile walk in traffic...
http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/birmingham-al/35203/february-weather/346630

legalschnauzer said...

Hmmm, thanks for the research. It was colder that day than I thought. Some good investigative work on your part. You must have a little "schnauzer" in you.

Anonymous said...

Why are you so obsessed with the death of this young man?

legalschnauzer said...

Why do you disguise your identity?