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00:01She was very energetic.
00:04She would always have a smile, and she just loved life.
00:09There was just something so special and beautiful about her.
00:14Baby, I'm listening to what you're saying.
00:15I know.
00:16I hear you.
00:17David could be extremely charming.
00:21He was going to be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
00:25She would literally just carry him throughout the house.
00:29I feel like he expected her to do certain things, but he didn't have the respect.
00:37She didn't want to feel like she was in prison anymore.
00:41This case is a true reminder that appearances can be deceiving.
00:45Dance department!
00:47He's very good at not showing that dark side.
00:59.
01:11January 2016.
01:15T and David Swims are supporting their beloved Ole Miss University at a marching band competition in Atlanta, Georgia.
01:22Georgia.
01:23She is extremely bubbly, energetic.
01:27She just makes you want to just have fun.
01:30It looks like she's just enjoying herself and singing, something she loved to do, and
01:38dancing something she couldn't do.
01:43The same shimmy dance she did with her shoulders.
01:49Here's David, he's trying to look mean and tough, and now she finally got David into
01:55it.
01:56T knew David almost our whole life, really.
02:00He could be extremely charming.
02:06They look like a very, very happy couple.
02:10She loved him, I could tell.
02:17Antietta Archie, lovingly known as T, is born on November 18, 1985, to Anatoly and Alyssa
02:24Archie in Carroll County, Mississippi.
02:27T was very energetic.
02:32She was smart.
02:35She would always have a smile, and she just loved life.
02:45When she was young, T was very helpful with her baby sister, Shalonda.
02:52They were six years apart, and T felt that she was more of big sister slash mom.
03:00T was, she was the glue.
03:02She was the natural nurturer for the entire family.
03:07T's fierce loyalty is strengthened by a traumatic family split.
03:12My divorce was hard on them, but I would always make sure they had what they needed.
03:21As a teacher, Miss Archie instills the importance of education in her daughters.
03:26T was a phenomenal student.
03:30She was very determined to have straight A's.
03:33T ended up graduating high school and going to the University of Mississippi, well, Ole Miss.
03:41T thrives in the college town of Oxford, and her time there is filled with happiness.
03:46She graduated from the University of Mississippi in 2008, and she told me, she said,
03:52Mama, I'm going to catch the first train coming.
03:57So she took the first job that she was offered, and it was in Yazoo City as a teacher, third grade.
04:06I was very proud.
04:11Not long after moving to Yazoo City, 22-year-old T reconnects
04:16with an old acquaintance, 27-year-old David Swims.
04:21I taught David in sixth grade math.
04:25He was a good student, but he was a student that thought he knew it all, but he didn't.
04:33David had quite a reputation within our hometown.
04:38He was labeled as a bad boy.
04:42T and David start dating.
04:44She learns he has two children with two different partners and is in the midst of a divorce.
04:51As an adult, I heard David was a jealous person.
04:57I know that he and his first wife have major issues.
05:03Hearing things around town about what he was doing made me very uncomfortable.
05:09On the day that T brought David to my house, she came in and he was behind her.
05:18She said, Mama, David and I are dating now.
05:20I said, Oh, really?
05:21He walked in with pride, you know, like chest out.
05:27He knew what a gym he was getting.
05:32David was offering her a lifestyle that she was not used to, the streets, the clubs, the partying.
05:42This was all new to her.
05:44This was like a lifestyle that mama tried to keep me away from.
05:51This is not a relationship that I want her to be in.
05:55But she was an adult now.
05:58I think the bad side is what she was attracted to the most.
06:02And in her mind, she would be able to love this person and allow them to find the good side within themselves.
06:09David claims he wants to marry T. But in March 2009, one year into the relationship, his life takes an unexpected turn.
06:28T called me and she said, Mama, David has been in an accident.
06:33He was hit by a truck.
06:36My mom, she said that David may not live.
06:45She told me to come on.
06:46We're going to get in the car.
06:47And then we got there.
06:48My sister was right by his bedside.
06:54He was going to be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
06:58I wanted him to go for care from his mom or other family members.
07:05But T told me, David is going to go home with me.
07:08She said, Mama, I love him.
07:12I could tell instantly that she was determined to make that relationship work.
07:19But that was the kind of person T was.
07:20She just couldn't walk away from something that she started.
07:24T moves David into her Yazoo City home and they start on the long road to recovery.
07:34I think after David's accident, it was a blow to his ego because he had to ask for help.
07:42And that's really what he did not like, asking for help.
07:51They were struggling.
07:53Sometimes he would be emotional.
07:55I definitely will say he took his frustrations out on her.
07:59I mean, she would literally just carry him throughout the house.
08:06She was going to be that loyal person for him because it's, in her mind, that was her soulmate.
08:14With T's unwavering care, David slowly regains his confidence.
08:18This is David when he wanted to try to regain strength and help him be able to walk again.
08:29He seemed to put aside his disability and began making it an ability.
08:40Once David's divorce is finalized, he and T set a wedding date for the winter of 2010.
08:46My heart dropped.
08:49I did not want her to stay in that relationship.
08:54Not because of the paralysis, but because he was who he was.
08:59He said that I'm going to love her and I refuse to ever leave.
09:07In the months before the wedding, T and David regularly visit Miss Archie.
09:14T had come to the house.
09:16She and David with the little baby.
09:19And I'm like, T, whose baby is this?
09:24So she pointed at David.
09:27And I said, T, you all were together when this baby was conceived.
09:35We realized that he had had a daughter while they were dating.
09:39T was very hurt that he chose someone else over her.
09:48So I'm shocked.
09:49I'm thinking, what had she done to him that would make him do that to her?
09:59It was like he was saying, OK, it's my baby.
10:02So what?
10:04You know that he stepped out before and he just won't stop.
10:10My heart was telling me to tell her, you know, get out of this.
10:14Take it and run.
10:15You don't have any obligations to him yet.
10:19I feel that she thought she was getting a husband.
10:25In actuality, he was not what he appeared to be.
10:38T marries David Swims on November 20th, 2010.
10:50She wanted him to just be a better person.
10:54She said, honestly, I don't feel like it's a problem.
10:57It's still our decision.
10:58I said, OK.
11:00After T and David were married, T seemed happy.
11:04I felt like, OK, everything is going along.
11:08Maybe I just need to stop feeling how I was feeling and accept what had happened.
11:16The couple still faced challenges.
11:18David was not working, but T took care of pretty much everything.
11:26The stress behind keeping the bills was definitely major for T,
11:32but she felt like I have to go ahead and just be the person to stand up and do it.
11:38T's determination never wavers.
11:41T ended up going to university to get her master's.
11:45Everything was done online.
11:49Then she pushed David to go back to school.
11:54He started going to this IT tech building.
11:57He enjoyed, like, fixing computers or fixing phones and things like that.
12:05T pushed for him to be able to get that degree.
12:08That way he could actually apply in his skill set to any job.
12:12He graduated and did very well.
12:15I was so happy for them.
12:19But three years into their marriage, T hit Shalanda with another bombshell.
12:23He called me and she just said he was still being unfaithful.
12:30There was one incident where she said that there was someone at her house while she was at work.
12:37She was honestly very upset with that because he promised her that once they're married,
12:43it will never happen and she's at work and she's still trying to make sure he's taken care of.
12:50I think she had gotten to a point to where she's like, well, if he's going to
12:54choose to entertain, then I'm going to do the same thing.
12:57And she said they discussed to have just an open relationship.
13:03I said, are you sure?
13:05Are you doing it to fix the situation of him not changing or are you doing this for you?
13:12And she said, honestly, I feel like both of them.
13:17But I'm going to make sure I stay to make sure I take care of them.
13:20T had dreams about going back to Ole Miss University of Mississippi to work on her PhD.
13:31So she told me, she said, Mama, I still want to move back to Oxford.
13:38In August 2014, T lands a position teaching third grade in Batesville, 25 miles from Oxford.
13:46And David finds a job in a phone and computer repair shop.
13:53Having two steady incomes helped a lot and it took a lot of the burden off of T.
13:58I could see a little bit of relief.
14:05The couple move into a home adapted for David's wheelchair on the outskirts of Oxford.
14:11Their lakeside street is known locally as the Cove.
14:14My husband and my family, we moved to the Cove in 2016.
14:21Some of the couples that had been living in the Cove for a while did block party.
14:27And that was the first time I got to meet T and David.
14:31They seemed like a very sweet couple.
14:33David was in the wheelchair.
14:35He seemed like it didn't slow him down.
14:37Even from a distance, you could tell T was just warm and there was just something so special and beautiful about her.
14:47It just seemed like it was going to be great to have a friend who's a neighbor instead of a neighbor who's a friend.
14:53As the months passed, more new families moved to the Cove.
15:02The ladies who were new in town, we started exchanging phone numbers.
15:06And started a group text.
15:09T actually named the group the Cove Queens.
15:15We started going out for each other's birthdays.
15:18Kind of became a monthly thing after that.
15:20This was one of our Cove Queen nights.
15:26T learned a TikTok dance and she was showing it all.
15:32She was so proud of herself for learning how to do that dance.
15:37T was the party.
15:39T was absolutely the party.
15:42If she was there, you already knew it was going to be a good night.
15:47But beneath the smiles, there are growing cracks in T's relationship.
15:52Basically, it is the 13 stars around, but the considerate...
15:56My Dems.
15:58My Dems.
15:59My Dems.
16:00My Dems.
16:01I'm listening to you.
16:02Baby, I'm listening to what you're saying.
16:03I know.
16:04I hear you.
16:06Baby, I hear you.
16:07Seems like T is working on a paper.
16:10And she's probably trying to get some serious business taken care of.
16:15And he's being silly.
16:16My Dems put it off.
16:18Being a comedian.
16:21T looks genuinely upset.
16:22My Dems.
16:25I feel like he expected her to do certain things.
16:29But he didn't have the respect that I would feel a man should have for his wife.
16:36My Dems put it off, yo.
16:38T confides in her sister that David is not respecting their personal agreement either.
16:46Having the open relationship did not work.
16:51He was just extremely jealous.
16:54He said he could do pretty much anything.
16:57But he wanted to make sure he kept the control over whatever she did.
17:03She had no privacy.
17:06He would call from her phone people that he would assume would be a male.
17:11Even if it's a coworker.
17:13Saying things like, oh, that's my wife.
17:14I don't want you calling her.
17:17It was definitely a wave that he could manipulate and maneuver to have his infidelities.
17:24And just take, really.
17:26He's very good at not showing that dark side that she would see.
17:33The cruelty with his words.
17:36We were talking every day.
17:38She just, like, burst out to cry.
17:42And I didn't know what to do.
17:44I think she realized that she wanted better.
17:50And she didn't want to be her words.
17:52She didn't want to feel like she was in prison anymore.
17:58Six years into their marriage, David and T's relationship problems persist.
18:11Unaware, Miss Archie continues to visit her daughter on weekends.
18:17I would go and stay with them.
18:19So that particular Friday, I made it up there.
18:22And I noticed all of David's clothes was in the back bedroom.
18:26That's the room I always stayed in.
18:29She didn't let on that they were having marital problems.
18:32But I started paying attention a little bit more.
18:38It definitely became more apparent that they were having issues,
18:42whereas normally she was there for every Cove Queen's dinner.
18:46There was a few where she would miss.
18:50That was definitely something noticed because she was the party.
18:55I know there were things that she held back.
18:57She was just always part of the support system.
19:01But very rarely was she one that would come out and say,
19:06I have a problem with something that's going on in my life.
19:14Despite David's controlling behavior, T never stops striving.
19:18And in April of 2021, she completes a lifetime goal.
19:22She did send us a group text to let us know that she was just waiting to hear if she got her PhD or not.
19:30We just started calling her Dr. T just to kind of boost her confidence because we knew she had it.
19:37I knew she had been undergoing a lot of stress with everything.
19:43And I said, hey, we're going out.
19:45We're going to relax and enjoy it.
19:48And so the next day, we went to go get our nails done, happy and laughing and kind of calm and relaxed.
20:00And then she got a text from David.
20:02And she just immediately started tensing up.
20:07And from that point on, he was constantly texting her, who are you with, what are you doing, why are you there?
20:15That was the moment where I saw exactly how jealous and kind of possessive he could be.
20:24I would say it was almost like the higher she climbed, the actions got a lot more controlling.
20:33It was so much tension, you could cut it.
20:38T would come and spend more time at my house by herself, come on a Friday and go back home on a Sunday.
20:45She was always saying, everything fine, everything fine.
20:48But it wasn't fine.
20:52With T spending more time away, David often takes sole charge of his children, spending time at a local gun range.
21:02But his mood deteriorates.
21:05Now, what did you do?
21:07What did you do?
21:09Huh?
21:10What did you do?
21:11What did you do?
21:12Get the team away!
21:14The fact that David's kids were there and T was not is very telling.
21:23T said that it had gotten to a point to where things were unbearable.
21:28And he would say things that you shouldn't just say to someone that you love.
21:33She had enough and she was tired of being watched 24 hours, like a day.
21:40So she made the decision to get a divorce.
21:46She decided he would have one half of the house and she would have the other portions.
21:51T returns to her mother's house on the weekend of June 4th, 2021.
21:58We sat in the kitchen and we talked.
22:01She said, Mom, it's over between David and I.
22:07She said, I'm tired of David's arrogance and I'm tired of him telling me what I can and cannot do it.
22:13T finally admitted that maybe she should have listened to Mom.
22:17I was very relieved. T deserved so much more.
22:24And then that Sunday, before we left the house, David drove up.
22:29And the look in her eyes was fear.
22:33It was pure fear.
22:35I went to the door, walked on out to his truck.
22:39I said, hey, David, what's going on?
22:42Is T here?
22:43I said, yeah.
22:44He was telling her, T, I just want to talk to you.
22:47She said, David, I'm done.
22:49I am done with you and I am done with this situation.
22:53David drove on off.
22:55The first thing that came to my mind was maybe he ain't coming back.
22:59I'm like, wow, that was good to me.
23:02We went to fishing and Shalonda came on up there.
23:08She and T was sitting out on the bank.
23:10I said, hey, y'all, look at me.
23:12And I snapped their picture.
23:14T felt relieved.
23:16She dedicated pretty much everything and she put everything on hold.
23:21It was almost like I could just see the light coming back into her eyes.
23:27And she felt safe.
23:32At the end of the weekend, T returns to Oxford with plans to put the house up for sale.
23:40She got in the truck and left that Sunday.
23:44The realtor was supposed to be there that Thursday at 2 o'clock.
23:50That Tuesday night, she called me back.
23:58She said, hey, mama, what you doing?
24:00I said, nothing.
24:01And so I said, you got a glass.
24:03Let me go get a glass.
24:04So I went and got a glass and I poured some wine in there.
24:08I said, where's David?
24:09And she said, he up in there somewhere.
24:12That was her exact word to me.
24:14He up in there somewhere.
24:15We were sitting there just talking.
24:21And then when we get ready to get off, we tapped the screen.
24:25She tapped hers and I tapped mine.
24:27Good night.
24:28I said, I love you.
24:29She said, I love you too.
24:36That Wednesday morning, she was supposed to call me.
24:39I didn't get that call.
24:41So that Wednesday afternoon, about 1.30, I called her phone.
24:47Went straight to voicemail.
24:48I said, oh, that's not like T.
24:51And then I didn't get a call back.
24:53Definitely not like her.
24:56So I waited and waited.
25:00Then I got a text message on my phone.
25:04Just said, hey, mom, I'll talk to you later.
25:08All of the words was jammed up together.
25:11No punctuation.
25:13When T was sent a message, you better know it was going to be correct.
25:19It didn't make sense.
25:21I called her phone that Thursday before she left school.
25:25I got a message saying, hey, mom, in a meeting, I'll call you later.
25:30No punctuation.
25:32Mom was lowercase.
25:34I just felt something was wrong.
25:37So that Friday morning, I left to go to Oxford.
25:47There's an insurance department.
25:49Oh, yes.
25:50We need to make a report in regards to a very serious matter.
25:54One of our co-workers called and basically said that he was involved in a murder.
25:58A few days ago, and it's like apparently everything's still like it was at the house.
26:17Like, he hasn't come in to work.
26:18Dispatch had a male subject on the line saying that he had shot his wife.
26:30He was currently still inside the house.
26:32As I got closer to the neighborhood, dispatch did relay information that
26:38the suspect was possibly in a wheelchair.
26:46Most important thing when we arrive on a scene to a call of this nature is safety.
26:51Try to find out where the suspect's at and secure the residence as quickly and as safely as possible.
26:57I remember the garage door kind of opening.
27:04Hey, man, come on out.
27:05And I could see an ale coming outside in a wheelchair.
27:09My greatest worry or fear is that he was still armed with a weapon.
27:14Appearances can be deceiving.
27:15After we secured the suspect, we started making our way through the residence room by room.
27:33We're constantly on high alert.
27:35There could be a threat to pop out behind a corner.
27:40As I was making my way through the kitchen,
27:41I do remember seeing a couple of firearms on the bar in the kitchen.
27:45At this point, we just bypassed them because this is Mississippi.
27:49Nothing unusual to see a gun laying on a counter.
27:59Once I got to the bedroom, I could see a comforter laid on the floor.
28:07It appeared that she had been there for a period of time.
28:10So at this point, I asked the deputies to exit the residence with me
28:14because this has now become an active crime scene.
28:26You really never know what you're going to get when it comes to a murder suspect.
28:30I would say that the suspect's demeanor was very calm.
28:41He didn't really say much.
28:42He was very nonchalant.
28:47Suspect was placed in a patrol vehicle.
28:50I followed that vehicle back to my office at the Lafayette County Criminal Investigations Building.
28:58Still on the road, Miss Archie remains unaware of what has happened to her daughter.
29:03I called Dave's phone.
29:05He didn't answer.
29:07The number cannot be reached.
29:08So I called Dave's mom's phone.
29:11She didn't answer.
29:12I said, somebody need to call me.
29:15What is going on?
29:16She called my phone and said, Auntie Ada is dead and hung up.
29:25And I just lost it.
29:28When I made it to the home, yellow tape all the way around the house.
29:34And that policeman walked up to the car and he said, I said, what's going on?
29:39He said, well, ma'am, there was a deceased female in the house.
29:47All I could think about was, I know this ain't true.
29:50I know this is not true.
29:52But it was true.
29:58It's like a gut wrenching.
30:00It's just a hurt that just won't stop.
30:09David Swims was placed in our interview room.
30:16The only thing I was aware of is the 911 call that he had made claiming that he had shot his wife.
30:21So I went into the interview trying to figure out exactly what happened.
30:27But once he was read his Miranda rights, he invoked his rights.
30:30So unfortunately, we had to end the interview at that point.
30:35Officers obtain a search warrant for the property.
30:39A knife was recovered on the scene towards the back of the bathroom where T was found.
30:48T had three entrance and exit wounds indicating that she had been shot three times.
30:53There were three bullet holes in the wall behind where she would have been.
30:58Those bullet holes weren't in a tight group.
31:01They actually moved the way that I perceived it from left to right.
31:05The bathroom where T was found clearly had been cleaned.
31:10It should have had more blood in it.
31:14Something that struck me very odd.
31:16Written in the very center of the kitchen counter by the firearms.
31:19With a black sharpie were the words pain, lies, and deceit.
31:26We also noticed the picture frames on the bookshelf.
31:28They were turned face down.
31:34Then I started looking around the residence and I noticed that all the other photographs were turned over.
31:38I picked one up.
31:41I saw that it was David Swims and what appeared to be the deceased female.
31:45David Swims is charged with first-degree murder and a secondary count of felonious possession of a firearm.
32:12Bail was set at $100,000.
32:17David was able to hire a bail bondsman.
32:22Generally speaking, that bail bondsman only requires 10% of that payment to sign on to that bond.
32:33The next day, David posts $10,000 bail and is free to leave.
32:37$10,000 for my daughter's life.
32:43I go out in the yard and dig up $10,000.
32:46I still don't understand that.
32:49But he was released extremely quickly.
32:52I really had to pray so that I wouldn't do anything that would take me away from my kids.
32:57Those were the hardest days because everybody, it's like everybody was frozen.
33:08Like, wondering if, like, are we really gonna get justice?
33:13They were clearly very emotional.
33:15However, I needed them to be strong.
33:19My goal is to get a conviction first and foremost.
33:23Second of all, send Mr. Swims to prison for as long as possible.
33:29David did come back to the Cove.
33:31He moved right back into the house.
33:34That was a very, very hard time.
33:35There was all the anger I had towards him for what he did.
33:41There was a certain amount of fear.
33:46Someone, in a way, became a recluse.
33:49Because any time I stepped outside, that was the chance I was gonna see him.
33:57He went back to work.
33:59He was an arrogant person.
34:01He was going on living his life.
34:03But he took my daughter's life.
34:11Somebody sent me the video of him out at a club two weeks after he murdered my daughter.
34:18It just turns my stomach.
34:26On Monday, September 19th, 2023, the trial finally begins.
34:32When David testifies, it's the first time he gives his full version of events.
34:38David Swims' defense was that he came into the bedroom where T was,
34:45that they had a confrontation with one another, that T picked up a knife.
34:51David testified that T lunged at him sideways with the knife.
34:58He picked up the gun that T had in the bedroom, and that's where he shot her.
35:04He describes himself as firing blindly at somebody who was attacking him, covering his eyes when he shoots her.
35:13I argued in this particular case to the jury that it was not self-defense.
35:19It was clear, speaking to witnesses and looking at the forensic data that was recovered from both cell phones, that the relationship was dissolving.
35:32In a case like this, the motive often becomes very clear.
35:37The defendant did not want her to go and would do anything to prevent her from going.
35:41The argument that I made to the jury was that Mr. Swims entered that room where T was,
35:54that he brought the firearm with him with a deliberate design to kill T.
36:00T had three entrance and exit wounds indicating that she had been shot three times.
36:08There were three bullet holes in the wall behind where she would have been.
36:13Those bullet holes weren't in a tight group,
36:17indicated not that T was coming at David, but that T was trying to get away from David,
36:23and that he knew exactly how to aim.
36:25If T was coming at him with the knife, the knife would have dropped somewhere in the center of the room
36:35where he shot her, as opposed to in the back of the bathroom where it was ultimately recovered.
36:41That indicated that the knife clearly appeared to have been placed.
36:50Ms. Archie brought the information to law enforcement,
36:53indicating that the text messages that she received from T's cell phone clearly was not from her.
37:00That David Swims, being the only other person who had access to that cell phone,
37:04sent those text messages, indicated that he was trying to cover up for his crime.
37:13The length of time between when T was murdered, and when David Swims called law enforcement,
37:21gave Mr. David Swims two days roughly to clean up, to come up with a story.
37:28He was very intelligent and physically fit from the waist up,
37:34but I believe he was unable to completely clean up the crime scene,
37:39and he had no choice but to say that he had shot her in self-defense.
37:48When we finally made it to court, I learned the gruesome details of how my daughter died.
37:56When I got up on stand to give my victim impact statement, I looked dead in his eyes.
38:05I said, David Swims, do you hear me?
38:10This will hurt me until the day God calls me home.
38:15And he just sat there. He never responded. He never acknowledged. He showed no remorse.
38:28The trial lasts three days. On Thursday, September 21st, the jury returned with their verdict.
38:35When the judge asked for the verdict to be read, the foreman stood up. He said, Guilty.
38:50Despite the prosecution working for a first-degree murder conviction,
38:54the jury remained unconvinced the crime was premeditated.
38:57The jury accepted that his actions, instead of being deliberate in nature, were depraved in nature,
39:04which is second-degree murder. I'm satisfied with that verdict.
39:09The jury also find David guilty of felonious possession of a firearm.
39:14Mr. Swims received a sentence of 40 years to serve, two of those years suspended,
39:1938 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
39:23I don't know if I'd say I'm satisfied with that, but I'm happy with that, because that's just like
39:32a lifetime for him. When they heard the truth, they knew what a monster he was.
39:40And he was one of a person that could not be changed. It was his way or no way.
39:47T had a big hand in assisting him, helping him, and nursing him back from that accident.
39:56She sacrificed. She gave everything for his life. And then he took hers.
40:03I remember my sister as the peaceful dove, the helper, the nurturer, the leader.
40:18That was my one person that knew everything about me, and I knew everything about her.
40:25I like to remember my daughter as the vibrant young woman that she was. And she would always tell me,
40:34Mama, just do it. If it's something you want to do, just do it. Smile like you're happy, happy.
40:43I know it. My daughter was loved. She was very much loved. But I'll never be the same.
41:04But her fear was awesome. There's no other word to describe him than as a monster.
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