Smiley Face Killers update

Read a 2015 Smiley Face Killers update on Crime Magazine containing special mention of still-missing Pennsylvania resident Paul Kochu, as well as the Shane Montgomery disappearance and drowning in that same state and time-frame.

Portrait on the article's accompanying illustration (shown above) is that of Michael Jansson, a youth who similarly vanished without a trace from an Illinois dance club on the evening of March 9, 2001.

In classic Smiley Face Killers tradition, he was never seen or heard from again, until the car he'd hurriedly fled in that night was found twelve years later, upside down at the bottom of the Chicago River. 

A subsequent DNA test on the skeletal remains strewn throughout the vehicle confirmed they were in fact "Mikey" Jansson's bones ... full story @ Crime Magazine.

BREAKING NEWS: Joshua Swalls (Smiley screwed up again)

INDIANAPOLIS - Toxicology reports have just been released for Joshua Swalls, 22, who mysteriously vanished this past November and was then found "drowned" three weeks later in a nearby retention pond that had already been scoured by divers the same week he went missing.

 

No drugs or alcohol whatsoever in the body of this young man.

 

That new evidence, coupled with the recent toxicology finding concerning 'drown' victim Matt Ward, who like Swalls also disappeared under suspicious circumstances from downtown Indianapolis, means the typical "he was drunk and drowned" story officials always issue in these cases now has a zillion little holes in it. 

 

Despite police claims that Ward was heavily intoxicated when he drowned in October 2012, Ward's tox report showed him to be only slightly above the legal limit for driving an automobile. A fact which proves that the 911 call he made seconds before he went missing was not "just a misdial" as Indy metro-police are now insisting.

 

Matt Ward's emergency cellphone call was placed during a physical altercation in a parking lot with a bouncer from the Landsharks nightclub. The bouncer was never questioned by police and they say he has since "left town."

 

The Swalls and Ward reports are major achievements in The Case Of the Drowning Men. Normally medical examiners quickly rubberstamp investigators' assertions  that a missing young man simply drank too much and fell into the water and perished. Therefore, even when the evidence clearly points to foul play, they'll pull a high BAC reading out of their hat instead, so to support the bogus ruling. Rarely will a coroner's office perform comprehensive tox reports on Smiley Face victims unless they feel publicly pressured to...

 

So let's keep the heat on Smiley then. We're finally getting somewhere.

 

Eponymous Rox

 

 

Voices for the Dead: Interview #2

"His dream was to have his own garage . . . He had a lot of passion for his job and took every opportunity to learn all he could.”

 

On November 4th 2012, Joshua Swalls, 22, mysteriously vanished from the city of Indianapolis while visiting a friend. Three weeks later he reappeared again in a nearby retention pond, drowned.

Dive recovery experts on the scene said Swall's body had been in the water for only about a week, but police have ceased to investigate his death and are suggesting he accidentally drowned while swimming. 

 

His family disagrees. They believe Josh Swalls was murdered. Eponymous Rox for Killing Killers interviewed them, and officially registered their voices for the dead.

 

Post Mortem

 

Mayhem in the Morgue and Metropolis?
 

 

'DROWNING IN NEGLECT'

 

A Crime Magazine exclusive exposé of life, sudden-death, and business as usual in the fair city of Indianapolis, by Eponymous Rox.

(Look for it there now.)

Smiley Face Interviews

Posting advance notice to readers that the parents of Matthew Ward and of Joshua Swalls will each be giving Killing Killers in depth interviews in early December concerning their sons' disappearances and drownings in Indiana this past October and November.

 

This will hopefully shed additional light on these suspicious deaths, as well as to call more public attention to the young mens' cases so police will feel compelled to continue to investigate them.

 

The first interview, regarding Matt, is scheduled to go live here in the opening days of December, followed shortly thereafter by Joshua's. Photos will accompany.

All interviews will be permanently featured on the Voices For the Dead page.

 

The Ward Drowning - Overview

 

On October 24, 2012, the body of Walton "Matt" Ward was recovered from the White River near 64th Street and Westfield Boulevard in Indianapolis. The 23-year-old man had gone missing on Oct. 12th.

Ward was visiting from California and planned to hook up with a girl he'd met on Cupid.com. His mother said she dropped him off outside Peppers Bar where the two had arranged to meet, but then never saw her son again.

 

The owner of the pub confirmed that Ward was there alone and stayed for about an hour or so before departing alone as well. The girl never showed.

At around 10:30 that same night Ward checked in with his mother by cell phone to say he was okay, but at approximately 1:30 a.m. on October 13th he placed a 911 call from his cell which only lasted for one second before terminating. Shortly thereafter Ward disappeared.

Detectives traced the call back to a cell phone tower in Broad Ripple near where his drowned corpse was ultimately found almost two weeks later.

 

The Swalls Drowning - Overview

 

Joshua Swalls, 22, vanished without a trace from a friend's apartment in Indianapolis where he was staying this November, leaving behind his cell phone, keys, and car. Allegedly, he was last seen in the early morning hours of November 4th, 2012.

 

A few days after he went missing, police say they found a shoe in the vicinity of the residential complex which they believe may have belonged to Swalls and so a tactical dive team then fruitlessly searched for his body in the nearby retention pond for approximately an hour.

 

Extensive searches by Swalls' family and friends were also conducted throughout the neighborhood in the days and weeks that followed, and similarly produced no results.

 

On November 23, Swalls' body was discovered floating in the same retention pond that had been already searched. He was subsequently identified by the family the day after. 

 

Autopsy & Toxicology Reports

 

In both cases the young men's deaths were immediately ruled accidental drownings. As of this writing, BAC and other toxicology tests are still pending.

 

MISSING PERSON ALERT: Cole Rupard, 28, from Indiana

UPDATE: 12/15/12 "FOUND SAFE"

 

The loved ones of Cole Rupard report that "Cole has been found and is safe with his family at the moment." There are no other details available at this time. Rupard vanished in late November 2012. However, apart from posters, his missing persons case was kept low profile by those searching for him at the request of law enforcement. This gives the impression that there may have been mitigating factors involved with his disappearance. 

 

 

 

Cole Rupard, 28, was last seen on November 20th, 2012 in the vicinity of Indianapolis. He is six-foot-four with red hair and hazle eyes, and drives a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu with the license plate 922NIL.

 

According to reports his roommate was the last known person to see Rupard before he disappeared. Since then, there has been no cellphone or bank account activities.

 

Rupard is from Noblesville, Indiana. If you see him or his vehicle please call Detective Saddler of the Noblesville Police Department at 317-776-6342. (Click the poster to enlarge.)

 

ALERT CANCELLED:  "FOUND SAFE"

 

Stop Smiley

2 0 1 2

 

Joshua Swalls, David Gerken, Jonathan Dailey, Matthew Ward, Colin Gillis, Tom Hecht, Nathan Bihlmaier, Franco Garcia, Harsha Maddula, Michael Philbin, Eric Duffey, Philipp Patnaude, Tyler Blalock...

 

 

Josh Swalls: Breaking News

Sources say body found in Indiana retention pond today is likely that of missing-persons Joshua Swalls, age 22. The same pond had already been searched by a tactical dive team earlier in the month when Swalls first went missing. No explanation has been offered as to why it wasn't discovered until now.

 

The deceased male was transported immediately to the Marion County Coroner’s Office where the body is expected to be positively identified shortly.

 

Police are treating this matter as a suspicious death and are asking anyone with information about it to call IMPD Homicide Detectives at 317-327-3475, or to leave an anonymous  tip with Crime Stoppers at 317-262-TIPS (8477). Callers may also text “INDYCS” plus tip information to 274627.

 

Swalls is the second young man to go missing in that area of Indianapolis in as many months. On October 24, 2012, the body of Walton "Matt" Ward was recovered from the White River near 64th Street and Westfield Boulevard. The 23-year-old man had gone missing on Oct. 12th.

Ward was visiting from California and planned to hook up with a girl he'd met on Cupid.com. His mother said she dropped him off outside Peppers Bar where the two had arranged to meet, but then never saw her son again. The owner of the pub confirmed that Ward was there alone and stayed for about an hour or so before departing alone as well. The girl never showed.

 

At around 10:30 that same night Ward checked in with his mother to say he was okay, but at approximately 1:30 a.m. on October 13th he placed a 911 call from his cell phone which only lasted for one second before terminating. Shortly thereafter Ward disappeared.

Detectives traced the call back to a cell phone tower in Broad Ripple near where his drowned corpse was ultimately found almost two weeks later.
 

 

Updates to this report will be provided as they come in:

Update #1 from Swalls' family: Body of a male in his twenties is not that of Joshua Swalls because there are no *tatto0s on the wrists. Coroner is working tonight to identify the victim. (*Note: Skin begins to shed from a body that has been submerged for a length of time. The process is called "degloving" and is especially pronounced in the feet and hands.)

Update #2 from 11/24/12:  County coroner and Swalls family concede that body found yesterday in Indiana retention pond is in fact Joshua's. (Their confusion during the preliminary ID is perfectly understandable, however -- see description of "degloving" in Anatomy Of a Drowning. This section also provides complete forensic analysis regarding bodies found in water and best practices for ruling out foul play.)

My condolences to Mr. Swalls' loved ones. It is not the outcome they deserved.
 

 

Somebody's Son Has Vanished

Joshua Swalls Is Still Missing

 

It's sad but true that if a young man does enough evil in this world today--as Austin Sigg did in brutally murdering schoolgirl Jessica Ridgeway last October--then all the world will give him the attention he craves for being so hopelessly craven.

 

But if a young man simply goes missing, or becomes the victim of an act of foul play, the media shows very little interest in his case. 

 

And, often, neither do the police.

 

Joshua Swalls, 22, vanished without a trace from Indianapolis, Indiana between November 3rd and 4th, 2012. He is somebody's son, brother and friend, and, whether the youth is alive or dead now, his people are still desperately searching for him.

 

If you have stumbled onto this weblog while holiday shopping this season, please take a good look at Josh's photograph above to see if you have ever met or glimpsed this young man before, and also consider sharing this post online as well. His missing persons case deserves more coverage than it is currently receiving.

 

Somebody, somewhere, somehow will recognize Joshua Swalls, or, alternately, knows what happened to prevent him from enjoying Thanksgiving with his family this year. (There is also a previous post about this case below, with additional information and photographs.)

 

Thanks for dropping by today--happy holidays to you and yours, from Eponymous Rox and KILLING KILLERS.

 

 

MISSING: Joshua Swalls, 22

Joshua Swalls, 22, vanished without a trace from a friend's apartment in Indianapolis where he was staying this month. He was last seen in the early morning hours of November 4th, 2012. Police say they recently found a shoe in the vicinity of the residential complex which they believe may belong to the missing young man. Divers then fruitlessly searched for Swalls' body in the nearby retention pond for approximately an hour.

 

How did they know to do that?
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE CASE OF THE DROWNING MEN