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Tag: Anne Swaney

  • Anne Swaney: Father of Murdered Journalist Mourns Loss of Second Child

    Anne Swaney was the Chicago journalist murdered in Belize last week. Her father recently opened up about his devastating loss, noting he also lost a son two years ago.

    “Thursday morning, I woke up and I had a daughter. At 8:30, I didn’t have a daughter,” Jack Swaney said. “The day before, I’d gone to look by the cemetery and I’d visited my son … and now the next day it’s go to the cemetery and see my son and see my daughter, and that’s not fair.”

    Jack Swaney said Anne Swaney, 39, loved to travel and to ride horses. She was on her second trip to Belize and ready to go on a group horseback riding excursion. She stayed behind when there weren’t enough horses and opted to do yoga instead. Her belongings were found near where she practiced yoga and her body was found floating in the adjacent river the next day.

    Anne Swaney had worked for Chicago ABC affiliate WLS-TV since 1999.

    “Anne Elizabeth had a very short life, she had a very full life and it hasn’t sunk in, what we’ve lost,” her father told the TV station.

    “As long as I heard her voice, I didn’t care where she was once I heard her voice,” Jack Swaney added, noting Anne Swaney often traveled.

    Police in Belize have detained a person of interest in the crime, however very few details have been released. The FBI has become involved in the case.

    Despite the outcome of their investigation, Anne Swaney is gone, and her father with forever grieve the loss of not just one child, but two.

    How does a parent learn to cope with two such tragedies?

  • Anne Swaney: Person Of Interest Named In Murder Of ABC7 Exec

    Executive producer of ABC7, Anne Swaney, was found dead by a river in Belize on January 15. Authorities believe Swaney was strangled.

    Her body was discovered floating face-down wearing just her bra in the Mopan River, which is near Belize’s border with Guatemala.

    “Her neck and either side of her head had laceration and that led us to believe it was a case of murder,” Daniel Arzu, Benque Viejo Police Superintendent told ABC7 Chicago.

    A post mortem examination revealed she died of “asphyxia due to compression of the neck area, throttling (manual strangulation) and blunt force traumatic injuries to the head and neck region.”

    The executive web producer’s phone is said to be missing. Her remaining belongings will be turned over to U.S. Embassy officials on Monday, according to WLS-TV.

    Anne Swaney was staying at Nabatunich cottages in the city of Benque Viejo in Belize, and according to investigators, she disappeared while doing yoga on Thursday morning. Her tour guide found her yoga mat and her other stuff near the river, but after failing to find her reported her disappearance to the authorities.

    A Guatemalan fisherman was being questioned, but he was not declared a suspect. The man, whose name is Rafael Martinez, was considered a person of interest, according to the spokesman for the Belize Ministry of National Security. “He is a person who the police believe can assist in the investigation.”

    Swaney worked at ABC7 for 16 years.

    Anne Swaney was described by the president and general manager of ABC7, John Idler, as a “trailblazer in the digital news space,” and a “kind person who always had a smile and a positive attitude.”

    “Anne was our leader, Anne was our conscience. Anne wanted to make sure that every story that we put online was first and foremost right,” director of digital operations at ABC7 Chicago, Kevin Carpenter, shared. “There’s always going to be a spot there that we will miss.”

  • Anne Swaney, Chicago News Producer, Murdered in Belize

    Anne Swaney, executive producer of online operations at ABC7 in Chicago, was found murdered in Belize on Friday.

    According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, Swaney was vacationing in western Belize, staying at the Nabitunich Resort near the town of San Jose Succotz, which has long been a popular tourist locale.

    The owner of the resort reported Anne Swaney missing at around 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Police found her belongings on a deck along the local river bank, but couldn’t locate Swaney. Authorities resumed their search on Friday, and found her bruised body floating in the river. The 39-year-old suffered blunt force trauma to her head and neck, rendering the case a homicide. Reports vary on whether or not Anne Swaney was sexually assaulted, too.

    John Idler, president and general manager at ABC7, issued a statement regarding Anne Swaney’s untimely death.

    “She was a trailblazer in the digital news space and was one of our first website employees,” the statement read. “Anne helped us evolve our business and our newsroom, but most importantly, she was a kind person who always had a smile and a positive attitude.”

    Anne Swaney was from Missouri. Her parents, who reside there, confirmed her death, but made no further statement.

    The U.S. State Department issued a statement via a Washington spokesperson.

    “We offer our sincerest condolences to her family and loved ones on their loss,” the statement reads.

    Surely the U.S. State Department will remain apprised of the investigation into Anne Swasey’s homicide.