Lafayette Police Investigating Death of Washington State Molestation Figure

A Lafayette police spokesman Wednesday confirmed reports that investigators are looking into the death of a Washington state man who died recently in a local hospital - the cause of death undetermined but deemed "suspicious" at this time.

Contra Costa County Sheriff's spokesman Jimmy Lee said Lafayette police are looking into the death of William Swan, 59, who was believed to be staying in Lafayette when he fell ill and was taken to John Muir Hospital, Concord - dying there June 3.

"The investigation is in the preliminary stages," Lee said. "Detectives say it does appear suspicious."

Swan, who with his wife Kathy was accused of "violently" sexually abusing their 3-year-old daughter and her 3-year-old friend in a case that drew nationwide attention and a 1992 interview with Morley Safer of 60 Minutes - steadfastly maintained the couple's innocence and declined to deal with prosecutors.

"A plea bargain is a way for a guilty person to get out of serving the full sentence that they deserve if indeed they're guilty," Kathy Swan said at the time. "I'm not guilty. I'm not bargaining."

The Swan's case was often cited as a troubling offshoot to the hysteria surrounding similar molestation cases of the day, including the notorious McMartin pre-school case - the longest and most expensive court trial in the nation's history - which ended with all charges being dropped in 1990. The Swan's were eventually sentenced to four years in prison and served three, despite contradictory evidence of their guilt and the testimony of others who called statements made against them into question.

Their principal accuser, it was learned, had a history of making bizarre allegations of child abuse, said she'd been a drug addict and an alcoholic and that she'd been abused by hundreds of men.

The couple's child, Beth, was taken away from them when the Swans went to prison in 1992. Contacted in 1999, Beth Swan said she knew her parents were innocent - a belief echoed by the mother of the second child prosecutors said they'd abused.

A second Swan child, a girl born in secret just before the couple was to report to prison, was legally adopted by the couple's parents and whisked away to live with them in South Carolina out of fear, the family said, that she too would be taken away.

Circumstances of William Swan's death remain under investigation, police said Wednesday. His movements since his release from prison have not yet been determined. It was not immediately known why he was in Lafayette.

Police are unraveling Swan's movements and waiting until a precise cause of death can be determined.

"Autopsy results are pending toxicology tests, which could take 6-8 weeks," Lee said.

Investigators declined to comment on reports that a "foreign substance" was found in Swan's system.

Anyone with any information on the case is asked to call Detectives at (925) 313-2600

Note: Lamorinda Patch wishes to thank the "Mayor of Claycord," whose assistance in the preparation of this story is most gratefully acknowledged.