Frederick Donald “Fred” Swiger Sr., a 70-year-old man, was killed during the early morning hours of July 26, 2013, while doing something that had been part of his daily life for decades: delivering newspapers in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Swiger and his son, Frederick Donald Swiger Jr., were working their regular route when they arrived on Locust Avenue at roughly 4:30 a.m.
They had no known connection to the dispute unfolding inside a nearby residence and were later described by police as innocent bystanders who happened to arrive at the worst possible moment.
Inside the Locust Avenue residence, investigators said Sidney Arthur Muller had gone to confront Christopher Hart and Todd Russell Amos over a drug debt. Authorities alleged that Muller had supplied Hart and Amos with thousands of prescription pills and was attempting to collect approximately $10,000 that he believed they owed him. According to testimony from Clarksburg Detective Jason Snider, an argument developed between Muller and Hart. Hart allegedly produced a handgun, and Muller knocked it from his hand. The two struggled over the weapon before Muller gained control of it and shot Hart. Investigators said Muller then shot Amos as well.
The violence did not end when Muller left the residence. As he came outside, he encountered the Swigers, who were simply continuing their newspaper route. Police said Muller shot both father and son, killing them. Authorities emphasized throughout the investigation that the Swigers were not involved in the drug activity or the dispute that had brought Muller to the residence. They were described as innocent victims whose normal work routine placed them outside the house just as the gunman was leaving.
Investigators received an important lead almost immediately. Hart's mother lived next door and went to her son's residence after hearing gunfire. Hart was reportedly still alive when she reached him and was able to identify Muller as the person responsible for the shooting. Police quickly circulated information about Muller and his vehicle. He was located later that morning at a McDonald's in White Hall in Marion County after authorities issued an alert for the vehicle. Muller was questioned by Clarksburg detectives and arrested the same day.
Muller was initially charged with four counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Swiger, his son, Hart and Amos. Prosecutors characterized the shootings inside the residence as stemming from the drug debt, while the killings of the Swigers were treated very differently because there was no evidence that either newspaper carrier had anything to do with the underlying dispute. In January 2014, a Harrison County grand jury indicted Muller on four murder charges.
As the prosecution moved toward trial, Muller's attorneys pursued several defenses and pretrial challenges. They sought a change of venue, attempted to limit certain character evidence and asked the court to suppress statements Muller had made after the shootings, arguing that alcohol and Xanax had impaired him. Prosecutors responded by presenting testimony from law-enforcement officers who had interacted with Muller that morning. The officers testified that they did not detect impairment and believed he understood what was happening.
Muller's military history also became part of the defense strategy. A Marine Corps veteran who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan, he had reportedly been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and his attorneys prepared a diminished-capacity defense based partly on his combat experiences and mental-health history. They sought testimony from men who had served with him to describe the traumatic circumstances he experienced overseas. The case was eventually scheduled for trial in 2015 after extensive pretrial proceedings.
The case ultimately ended through guilty pleas rather than a jury verdict. On October 26, 2015, Muller pleaded guilty in Harrison County Circuit Court to two counts of first-degree murder for killing the Swigers and two counts of second-degree murder for killing Hart and Amos. The agreement avoided the uncertainties of a trial while guaranteeing that Muller would receive lengthy prison sentences.
For the murders of the Swigers, Muller received life sentences that were ordered to run concurrently. For the deaths of Hart and Amos, he received two 25-year sentences, also running concurrently. Under the plea and sentencing arrangement, the 25-year term was to be served before the life sentences, with Muller receiving credit for the time he had already spent in custody. The sentence left him with the possibility of eventually seeking parole rather than guaranteeing that he would remain incarcerated for the remainder of his natural life.
The deaths of the Swigers had a particularly strong impact on Clarksburg because the father and son were familiar figures throughout the community. They had delivered the Clarksburg Exponent Telegram together seven days a week for approximately three decades, developing personal relationships with many of the people along their route. Friends remembered them as men who frequently helped others, sometimes taking a lawnmower with them and stopping to mow a yard or assisting someone who needed help moving or carrying something.
A candlelight vigil and visitation were held for the father and son, followed by a joint funeral service in Clarksburg. Newspaper subscribers, police officers, city officials, relatives and friends attended. They were laid to rest at Lumberport Lions Cemetery. What had begun as another routine predawn newspaper route ended with the Swigers becoming two of four victims in one of Clarksburg's most devastating killings, and the investigation that followed established that they had simply crossed paths with Muller as he fled from a deadly confrontation that had nothing to do with them.
