On a tragic day in May of 2015, the life of 24-year-old Frederick Deangelo Swilling was cut short in Bessemer, Pennsylvania. His body was discovered on May 1st near an elementary school in North Beaver Township, Lawrence County. An autopsy would later reveal that Swilling had died from multiple gunshot wounds.
The investigation into the violent death of the young male led authorities across state lines.
A little over a week after the discovery of Swilling's body, two individuals were apprehended in Birmingham, Alabama. Ryan Christopher Avery, 24, and Melissa Sue Aponte, 33, both from New Castle, Pennsylvania, were taken into custody in connection with the homicide. Avery was met with a host of serious charges, including criminal homicide, aggravated assault, robbery, and criminal conspiracy to commit kidnapping. Aponte faced charges of kidnapping, criminal conspiracy to commit homicide, criminal conspiracy to commit robbery, and criminal conspiracy to commit aggravated assault.
As the investigation continued to unfold, two more suspects were identified and taken into custody. In July 2015, Dawn Wallace, 33, and Ricardo Aponte, 32, also from New Castle, were charged with homicide in connection to Swilling's death. Like the first two suspects, they had also fled to Alabama and were extradited back to Pennsylvania to face the charges against them. All four individuals were subsequently held in the Lawrence County Jail.
Despite the arrests and the serious charges filed against the four suspects, information regarding the subsequent legal proceedings, including details of any trials, convictions, or sentencing, is not available in the online sources that were accessed. The ultimate resolution of the cases against Ryan Christopher Avery, Melissa Sue Aponte, Dawn Wallace, and Ricardo Aponte remains publicly undisclosed.
