On the morning of August 26, 2002, 14-year-old Swen Paul Swanson was shot and killed in his bed at the family ranch house just outside Augusta, Lewis and Clark County, Montana. His 10-year-old sister, Louisa Ann Swanson, was also killed that same morning; their two older brothers and father were unharmed. Their mother, 46-year-old Jeanette Swanson, called 911 after the shootings and was arrested at the scene with the .38-caliber handgun recovered by investigators.

Court records say Jeanette had been suffering severe mental illness in the days before the killings, including delusions and hallucinations, and believed community members intended to harm her children. Psychological evaluations diagnosed schizoaffective disorder, agnosia, depression, and psychosis and concluded she was in a delusional state and unable to appreciate the criminality of her actions. She pleaded guilty to two counts of deliberate homicide and, on January 2, 2003, was committed to the Montana State Hospital for life for treatment.

Are there readers who remember the Swanson family or who have information about the events leading up to August 26, 2002?