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013013 SWEARINGEN EXECUTION WARRANT RECALLED

3,716 views · Published 31 January 2013 · 13:03 · Indexed 25 September 2026

Channel: SCOTT ENGLE-MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLICE REPORTER- · 2013 · News & Politics

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In less than a month Larry Swearingen was to executed for the murder of Melissa Trotter  a college student who vanished December 8, 1998 and was found January 2, 1999 in the Sam Houston National Forest by hunters--in an area that had been already searched three times. She had been strangled with one leg of a set of panty hose. Around her neck and face there was some decomposition from maggots as well as evidence of rodent scavenging. She was clothed but her shirt had been bunched up around her neck, and though her torso was bare, it showed no evidence of having been scavenged by the wild pigs, crows, raccoons, or vultures that live in the forest. Her corpse was not bloated, and police reported no foul smell. In fact, the hunters had initially thought she was a mannequin. The body appeared to have been in its final resting place for only a short period of time.
Swearingen, an ex-con who was working as an electrician, had met Trotter on December 6 and asked her out on a date. She stood him up the next day, but on December 8 they rendezvoused on campus. That same day she disappeared, making Swearingen one of the last people to see her alive. Three days later, he was arrested for outstanding traffic warrants and put in jail, where he remained after becoming a suspect in Trotter's disappearance. When her body was found, Swearingen had already been in jail for three weeks.
Though no one saw Trotter leave the campus with Swearingen, the state was able to stitch together a tenuous narrative that had Swearingen kidnapping her in his truck, taking her to his trailer, raping her, killing her, and dumping her in the forest. (In order to get the death penalty, prosecutors had to prove murder in tandem with another felony, such as kidnapping or rape.) The motive? Prosecutors brought forward testimony from construction worker pals of Swearingen's who said he had been furious at being stood up. As for proof about the kidnapping, there were witnesses who saw the two together on campus earlier that day, and there were fibers found on her jacket that "appeared to be" from Swearingen's jacket and other fibers found on her and her clothes that were "similar to" carpet fibers from his trailer and truck seat.
One thing was another leg of pantyhose found in the trash outside his trailer four days after Trotter's body was located.
Swearingen has skipped execution at least three times already.
Several weeks ago the defense team, most of which consist of out-of-state attorney's filed a motion for six items to be tested for DNA. They were citing Chapter 64 of the Code of Criminal Procedures which the language had been changed in 2011. Prior to that in 2010 the Court of Criminal Appeals, the highest court in the state denied the defense motion for additional testing.
Back during the case, the prosecution had enough evidence without the additional six items which included some clothing, cigarette butts, and pantyhose.  The defense didn't request the testing either.
When the new motion was filed District Attorney Bret Ligon immediately agreed to an expedited DNA test of the materials with the scientist and lab of the defense choice. They said it could be completed within 10 days without having to delay the execution date.
That wasn't enough for the defense attorneys that the court says thrive on delaying executions. According to the lab which was chosen for the tests, the entire assignment could actually be completed in a few days. The long waits for most DNA are due to a backlog of agencies but paying for the service can move it to the front of the line.
With new motions and arguments, the case could drag on for more than 6 months. When Judge Case recalled the execution warrant the District Attorney's Office asked for a new one to be set for August 28, 2013. Judge Case refused.
Melissa's mother has gone through a proceeding for 14-years and there has not been any closure.

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