Swartz

After three months, the wait is over for the Scott Swartz murder bench trial.

On Friday afternoon, Scott Swartz, 47, was found guilty of second-degree murder. He was accused of murdering his father, 78-year-old Paul Swartz, in January of 2023.

On Jan. 7, 2023, the Marshalltown Police Department (MPD) was dispatched to the residence where Scott Swartz was living with his father and found Paul Swartz lying bloodied and wounded on the bathroom floor.

Paul Swartz was transported via ambulance to UnityPoint Hospital. He was later transferred to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, where he died Jan. 22.

Judge John Haney presided over the bench trial and read from his 55-page ruling during the hearing. Scott Swartz was originally charged with first-degree murder, but Haney said the state did not prove there was any premeditation involved. Rather, Scott Swartz’s mental health, the conditions of the volatile and violent relationship with his father and his prolonged use of methamphetamine created a state of psychosis.

In October 2023, Scott Swartz’s attorney Aaron Siebrecht filed an intent to claim insanity as the defense. During the bench trial, psychologists Dr. Luis Rosell — on behalf of the defense — and Dr. Rosanna Jones-Thurman — on behalf of the state — provided conflicting testimonies as to whether or not Scott Swartz was insane at the time of the crime.

Rosell determined Scott Swartz was schizophrenic. Jones-Thurman said he exhibited symptoms of antisocial personality disorder and an unspecified mood disorder, but was sane when the crime occurred.

Reading from the ruling, Haney laid out the evidence presented during the trial, including Scott Swartz beating Paul Swartz with a shotgun, leaving his elderly father on the floor for four hours, lying to his mother and MPD officers about what happened and a statement about Paul Swartz filled with vulgarities he made to officers after his arrest.

The extent of Paul Swartz’s injuries ranged from visible wounds on his face and head to broken bones including his hip, ribs and femur. Scott Swartz admitted to the police that he pushed Paul Swartz twice, but added he did not know how his father got so injured and bloody. Scott Swartz also said Paul Swartz got hurt from falling down the stairs, and that his father started the altercation.

Haney said Paul Swartz’s injuries were consistent with a beating by a blunt force object, the shotgun. The judge said Scott Swartz did not have any injuries, but there were blood stains on his pants and boots.

Haney ended the hearing by setting the sentencing date for Oct. 14 at 10 a.m. in the Marshall County Courthouse.

After the ruling, MPD Chief Mike Tupper called the death of Paul Swartz “a senseless act of violence.”

“I appreciate the professional response by the police officers, detectives and public safety professionals involved with this investigation,” he said. “We also thank the prosecutors for their hard work and commitment to justice. We hope this verdict offers the Swartz family some semblance of peace and closure.”

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Contact Lana Bradstream

at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or

lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.