Jason Michael Swanson, 37, a white man from Warsaw, Missouri, died on December 22, 2020, after a shotgun blast tore through an argument and ended everything in an instant. In the days that followed, the public picture of him came into view in two very different ways: as the man at the center of a violent, chaotic scene off Highway BB near Warsaw, and as a father and family member remembered for the ordinary joys—driving around with music on, and being with his kids.
According to investigators and early news reports, deputies were called to a home on State Highway BB just before 6:30 a.m. for what was described as a domestic disturbance or scuffle that escalated into gunfire. Authorities said a woman at the residence, Patricia Garvey, called 911 and reported that Swanson had been shot in the upper torso during a struggle involving a 12-gauge shotgun. When deputies arrived, he was found dead from his injuries, and the Missouri Division of Drug and Crime Control was brought in to process the scene as part of the investigation.
As the story of the moments leading up to the shooting was outlined in later reporting, it read like a cramped, tense standoff that unraveled in seconds. Garvey told authorities she retrieved the shotgun after a brief break in the dispute, then moved through a living room described as crowded with furniture while she remained on a cordless phone. She said she held the shotgun as the argument continued, and that as Swanson approached, he swiped the muzzle to the side—at which point the gun discharged, striking him near the left shoulder/upper torso. He collapsed, and she said he succumbed to the wound after falling to the ground.
An arrest followed quickly. Garvey was taken into custody and charged with first-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action. Reports from late December 2020 describe her initial bond as $200,000 cash or surety, and note that she entered a not-guilty plea. Within days, local reporting stated the bond was amended to $25,000 cash or surety and that she posted a $25,000 surety bond on December 29, 2020.
As the months turned into years, the case moved through the slow grind of court scheduling. Later updates reported that Garvey waived a preliminary hearing and that the matter was bound over to the trial division, with hearings, arraignment settings, and at least one jury trial date that was later canceled. In the online sources reviewed here, those later updates did not include a publicly reported final resolution such as a conviction, acquittal, sentencing, or dismissal.
