‘Murdered’ Faye Swetlik’s family rage over ‘monster across the street’ as details of memorial revealed
FAYE Swetlik’s grandma has posted a heartbreaking message saying “I promised I’d always protect her” after she was abducted and strangled to death by a neighbor. Ruth Collins posted the agonizing note on social media adding how she didn’t know there was a “monster right across the street”. Little Faye Swetlik’s remains were discovered near […]
FAYE Swetlik’s grandma has posted a heartbreaking message saying “I promised I’d always protect her” after she was abducted and strangled to death by a neighbor.
Ruth Collins posted the agonizing note on social media adding how she didn’t know there was a “monster right across the street”.
Little Faye Swetlik’s remains were discovered near the Churchill Heights neighborhood of Cayce in South Carolina on Thursday.
The six-year-old was snatched and killed by 30-year-old Coty Taylor, who — unable to live with the guilt — slit his own throat — shocking thousands within the close-knit community.
Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher fought back tears in a press conference held outside Trinity Baptist Church in Cayce, on Tuesday afternoon, as she revealed the results of the little girl’s autopsy.
She confirmed that Faye died of asphyxiation and that her homicide “took place within a few hours of her abduction”.
In harrowing circumstances, a polka-dotted rain boot and a soup ladle full of dirt were among the chilling clues detectives used to find the sadistic killer.
Her devastated grandmother Ruth Collins posted an emotional message on social media yesterday afternoon, still coming to terms with the tragic death of her “Fayby”.
She wrote: “I’m never going to see my Fayby again, I promised I’d always protect her from the monsters in her closest.
“I didn’t know that she had a two-legged monster right across the street.
“Y’all please go and get a child identification and fingerprint kit – be prepared.”
I didn’t know that she had a two-legged monster right across the street
Ruth Collins
Investigators followed a garbage truck going around the Churchill Heights neighborhood in South Carolina and sifted through each can it emptied.
They discovered a ladle covered in dirt and a rain boot matching one Faye was wearing when she disappeared while playing in her front yard last week.
When asked why the soup ladle struck detectives as significant, Cayce Public Safety Director Byron Snellgrove replied: “It was a hunch.”
He said he personally found the little girl’s body, which was moved “in the shadow of the night” and dumped her in woods near her home on Thursday.
Cops believe the tragic infant was killed within hours of her abduction.
Shortly after her remains were found, authorities were called to Mr Taylor’s home, where they said they found him dead on his back porch, covered in blood, at 10:30am last Thursday.
Her mother made a harrowing 911 call to report her daughter missing.
In the audio recording, Selena Collins could be heard frantically informing Lexington Police Department how she saw her daughter less than an hour ago.
“I need to report a missing child — we can’t find my daughter,” sobbed Collins, revealing she last saw her in the front yard.
“She was playing outside and I can’t find her.
“She’s six — she’s going to be seven in June.”
As the dispatcher connected her to the police department, Ms Collins described little Faye’s outfit, weight, and height.
“I last saw her probably about an hour ago,” Collins said, audibly trying to hold back tears during the heart-wrenching call.
“She was right in front of my front porch,” Faye’s mom told cops, adding she “checked all the houses in my neighborhood.”
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The family are holding a public memorial service to give the community a chance to say goodbye.
Faye’s funeral is scheduled for Friday evening, and a public memorial will also be held on Friday, at 7pm at Trinity Baptist Church.
To honor her “bright and bubbly spirit”, the family wants all those in attendance to wear bright colors, especially pink and purple, her favorite colors.
