The Murder of Linda Sweezer
For this case I watched an episode of See No Evil. It’s season 7 episode 4, titled ‘Headlights and Fire.’ See No Evil is one of my favorite shows because of the surveillance footage, and in this episode the surveillance footage is very eerie.
A 63 year old grandma is killed in her own home.
Background
Linda Sweezer
Linda Sweezer was described as being a helpful and caring person, who was always doing more to help others than herself.
She was originally from Michigan, but moved to Kent, Washington is the 1970s. She worked as a community organizer, and worked with food banks and an organization helping black culture. She lived her life to help people, and had just adopted her granddaughter, just a week before she was killed.
The Murder
On October 24, 2017, a 911 call came into the Pierce County, Washington police at 4:07am. The caller said she had just left her friends house, and saw a body in the road that wasn’t there just a few hours before.
The police rushed to the scene, and sure enough there a body in the road. This area was a very secluded, with only a few houses on the street. The victim was a light skinned female, and her clothing had been melted and burned. She had a piece of fabric covering her face. The victim also had trauma to her neck. It took awhile to identify the victim because there was no wallet or ID at the scene.
Detective Jason Laliberte interviewed the 911 caller. She said she had just left her friend’s house, when she noticed something in the road. She said she flashed her high beam lights on and thought she saw an arm. She left the scene, and came back with her boyfriend. They both looked closer, and called the police when it was confirmed to be a body.
The body had been set on fire, but only the clothing was burned. The police located a lighter nearby, and took it in for evidence to see if there was any DNA on it.
Investigation
The next step was to canvass the neighborhood, to look for witnesses and any surveillance cameras. They were able to find a camera at a home that was on the corner of the intersection. The camera pointed towards the area where the victim was found.
The 911 caller gave the police a timeline of 1-1:30am when she arrived at her friend’s house. The camera footage wasn’t the best, the intersection was a dark road that had no street lights and it was partly obscured by a car port.
Around 1:27am, two vehicles are seen. The first being a dark colored pickup truck and the second was a smaller Sedan. The police believed that two people were involved.
After a few minutes, the pickup truck is seen leaving, but the Sedan stays for a few extra minutes. When the Sedan eventually leaves, there is a reflection in the driver side door, and it appears to be flames. The police put a be on the lookout for the two vehicles.
The police wanted to find more surveillance cameras that had a better view. The police found a camera from a boat shop, and the view was of a busier intersection with a view of the road turning onto the road where the victim was found.
At 1:20am, the two cars are seen driving down the road. The Sedan is seen leaving a few minutes later, but the truck isn’t seen again. The police believed that the cars went in different directions after the crime. Now, the police needed to find the cars and identify the victim.
The Autopsy
The medical examiner said the victim was stabbed 35 times in the neck and head. The victim also had injuries that showed blunt force trauma, but that wasn’t her cause of death. The cause of death was strangulation, and she was set on fire. This was a rage killing.
The medical examiner tried various ways to try to identify the victim. Her fingerprints were taken and the forensics team also took a photo of her face. Neither method worked.
A few days later, the Auburn police called and said they found an abandoned vehicle, which was two miles away from where the victim was found. The car was a Sedan, and the license plate came back to a Linda Sweezer. The police matched her license photo to the victim, and it was a match.
What was the motive?
Now that the police had their victim, they had her address too and they went to investigate. When they walked into Linda’s house, they were shocked. There was a sign of a struggle, a stroller was knocked over and there was blood on the carpet and kitchen floor. The police believed Linda was killed in her home and then dumped where she was found.
Linda’s house was a split level house, so the police went to every floor. In one of the bedrooms, the police found Linda’s four month old granddaughter, unharmed. The baby was taken to the hospital.
In Linda’s office, the police noticed that the killer had rummaged through papers and some drawers. However, there were no clues leading the police to a suspect.
After finding no DNA or fingerprints in the house, the police turned to Linda’s car. They took fingerprints and DNA swabs. They also opened the trunk, where they found a large amount of blood soaked into the carpet. The police believed Linda was put into her trunk after she was already killed, and then dumped in the area where she was found.
Another Crime
The police received a call from a woman named Dixie Reynolds. She told the police that her home had been burglarized. Dixie’s house was also very close to where Linda’s car was found abandoned.
The police went to her interview Dixie. Dixie’s statement is seen on this episode. She said it happened on the night of the murder at 5am. She heard her garage door open, and went to check on her daughter, who was the only other person living in the home. Her daughter was still asleep, and Dixie went to investigate. As she was walking to go look, she heard a rustling noise. The person had found her car keys, and was backing out the driveway by the time Dixie went downstairs.
Dixie told the police that her neighbor had surveillance cameras. The neighbor gave them permission to look at the footage.
A First Look at the Killer
The police looked at the footage from just before 5am. A figure appears on foot at 4:34am. The man is wearing a traffic vest, has shoulder length hair and is wearing a hat. He’s seen pacing on the sidewalk for a few minutes.
The police went to another camera angle, this angle shows a different part of Dixie’s driveway. The car is seen backing out, it stops so that the man can close the garage door and backs out again.
The police now know that Dixie’s house was very close to where Linda’s car was found. The police were able to find a home on the same street where the car was found, and these people had a Ring doorbell.
The footage is now from before Dixie’s car was stolen, and 15 minutes after Linda was killed. At 1:50am, a man walks up to the house. The man matched the footage from Dixie’s neighbors footage. The man leaves just after a few seconds, and the police think he was looking at potential homes to rob, and saw the camera.
The police needed to find him.
A Witness
After the police put out information about the suspect, a man came forward. He said he had a conversation with the suspect that night. He was leaving his friend’s house, when a man approached his car. The man asked him for a ride, and he said no. The man then asked if he could get him some gas, and the witness agreed. The man then handed him two empty gas cans. He left and came back with gas. The man filled the car, and tried to start the car, it didn’t work. He then asked the witness if he could borrow his phone. He agreed and made two phone calls.
The police asked the witness if they could look at his phone, he said yes. The police ran the phone numbers, and they came back to a Laura Soloy and Jason Jordan.
Laura had a 25 year old son named Lance Rougeau. The police ran a background check, and he had a criminal record. His booking photo was a match to the surveillance footage from the Ring doorbell.
The police needed to bring Lance in.
Lance Rougeau
The police went to Lance’s house, he still lived with his mom. Other reports said that Lance was sometimes homeless. When they arrived, Lance was out on the balcony.
Inside the house, they found a backpack that was a match to Dixie’s daughters. Inside the backpack was two sets of car keys: Linda’s and Dixie’s.
Lance was brought in for questioning. Lance was dismissive and unfocused. He said he wasn’t involved, and didn’t want to speak to them.
Meanwhile, Lance’s DNA came back to being a match to the DNA found in Linda’s car. There was also unidentified female DNA found. The woman was not involved in the murder. She had met Lance at a casino and needed a ride home. However, she immediately thought he was sketchy and she called her friend to pick her up. Her friend was the driver of the pickup truck seen on the surveillance footage.
Lance’s mom and brother were also ruled out.
Lance in court
Trial and Conviction
Lance was arrested and charged with Linda’s murder.
Lance’s trial began in February 2020. The prosecution said Lance went to Linda’s house to rob her. He needed money, and Linda confronted him to protect her granddaughter. Lance killed her in her home, not knowing there was a baby upstairs. He put her in the trunk of her car, drove her around and burned her body to try to get rid of evidence.
Then, he needed a new vehicle. He walked to Dixie’s neighborhood, robbed her house and stole her car.
Lance was convicted of felony first degree murder, felony first degree robbery and motor theft. He was sentenced to 45 years in prison.
Other
The community where Linda lived had an annual Juneteenth festival, and it was renamed in her honor.
Linda’s friend and KBAC director, Gwen Allen-Carston said:
“Linda was a fantastic person, a sweet spirit, a wonderful loyal member of the Kent Black Action Commission. “She was a giving person. Her heart and spirit will be with us for a long time.”
Another picture of Linda
FINAL THOUGHTS
I think that this man was a very sick individual, but it doesn’t excuse his actions AT ALL! He was looking to rob various house, and probably went to the homes that looked quiet and dark. He chose Linda’s, a woman he didn’t know, and Linda fought to save her granddaughter, but he was able to overpower her. I hope her granddaughter is safe and is living with someone who loves her just as much as Linda did.
Lance deserves to be in prison for a long time, so that he won’t hurt anyone else.
Sources
https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/crime/article240892866.html
https://www.kentreporter.com/news/man-convicted-of-murdering-kent-woman-during-burglary/
