City of Cayce(CAYCE, S.C.) — Faye Swetlik, the 6-year-old whose disappearance launched a frantic, three-day search in her South Carolina neighborhood, was abducted and killed by asphyxiation, allegedly by a 30-year-old neighbor, authorities said Tuesday.
At a Tuesday news conference, Lexington County coroner Margaret Fisher wept, expressing her condolences for the girl’s family. She said that the girl’s death was a homicide and took place within a few hours of being abducted.
Swetlik, a first-grader, was found dead in a wooded area on Thursday, three days after she vanished. She had last been seen playing outside her home in Cayce, South Carolina, which is just outside of Columbia.
According to Fisher, Swetlik did not die in the wooded area where her body was found. Her body had been at that location for only a short time, the coroner added.
Just moments after the girl’s body was found, a 30-year-old man named Cody Taylor — a neighbor of Swetlik’s — was found dead at his nearby home, Sgt. Evan Antley of the Cayce Department of Public Safety said on Friday.
Cayce Department of Public Safety Director Byron Snellgrove said at Tuesday’s news conference that evidence leads authorities to believe Taylor abducted and killed Swetlik.
A candlelight vigil for the girl will be held outside Cayce City Hall Tuesday evening.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
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