An Orleans man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for shooting and killing his wife more than five years ago in their Northeast Kingdom home.
Randall Swartz, 63, pleaded guilty earlier this year to second-degree murder in the death of 54-year-old Thea Swartz in May 2018. He had previously been charged with first-degree murder.
A two-day contested sentencing hearing in Orleans County Superior criminal court in Newport that began Thursday concluded late Friday afternoon with Judge Lisa Warren handing Swartz a 30-year prison term.
“When the court considers the totality of events on May 15, 2018, and the events and statements leading up to the murder, the court is convinced the defendant took Thea’s life and intended to kill her,” Warren said.
The judge spoke for about 30 minutes, explaining her sentencing decision and describing the long-term domestic violence in the case, before telling Swartz to stand at the defendant’s table in the courtroom as she prepared to announce his prison term.
“The homicide itself is overwhelming evidence of the domestic violence that Thea Swartz endured at the hands of the defendant for several years,” Warren said. “Indeed, it is the epitome of domestic violence.”
Orleans County State’s Attorney Farzana Leyva, the prosecutor, asked the judge to impose a sentence of 50 years to life. Defense attorney Robert Sussman requested for his client a sentence of 15 years to life, with eight years in prison.
Randall Swartz has been in prison for lack of bail since his arrest in 2018.
According to court records in the case, he fatally shot his wife in their home while she was on the phone with a 911 dispatcher on May 15, 2018. Thea Swartz reported her husband had a gun pointed at her, according to court filings.
Police reports and court records indicate that after he shot his wife, Randall Swartz turned the gun on himself. Police who arrived at the residence found Thea Swartz dead and Randall Swartz alive but unresponsive.
He was treated for a gunshot wound to his torso at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, and later released.
Prior to the homicide, authorities had been investigating Randall Swartz, a former Cabot Creamery maintenance worker, for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment from the cheese-making company.
In December 2019, Swartz was sentenced in federal court to four years in prison in that case after pleading guilty to fraud charges. He will serve any remaining portion of that sentence concurrently with his sentence for the murder. He had been ordered in the federal case to pay $452,558 in restitution.
Thea Swartz’s family members spoke Friday during the sentencing hearing on the murder charge against Randall Swartz, telling the judge of the devastating impact her death has had on them and urging the judge to impose a lengthy prison term for her killer.
Her daughter, Bailey Swartz, described Randall Swartz as abusive and “evil,” and said he decided to kill her mother because she was leaving him. “He no longer could control or abuse her because she was leaving him,” Bailey Swartz told the judge.
“Right now I should be making holiday plans with my mom,” Bailey Swartz said. Instead, she told the judge, she was in a courtroom “fighting for justice” for her mother.
Leyva, the prosecutor, told the judge that Thea Swartz was a “ray of sunshine” who could light up a room and Randall Swartz “took away that sunshine” from those who knew her.
She described Randall Swartz as a “controlling,” “threatening,” “aggressive” and “manipulative” person who harassed and assaulted Thea Swartz physically and verbally.
“This case screams domestic violence,” the prosecutor said.
When Thea Swartz called 911, Leyva said, she reported that Randall Swartz had a gun pointed at her.
“As she gave her name and address you hear her scream, he shot her in the chest,” the prosecutor said.
Randall Swartz could then be heard on the 911 line calling Thea Swartz profane and obscene names after the shooting, Leyva said.
“The 911 call in this case is the best evidence,” Leyva said. “This call is damning for the defendant.”
In his sentencing argument to the judge, Sussman, the defense attorney, said that his client was “substantially impaired” at the time of the shooting with a blood-alcohol level of about 0.30% — four times the legal limit for driving.
He said that level of impairment was a “mitigating factor” for the judge to consider in sentencing Randall Swartz.
Sussman said the prosecutor’s call for a 50-year prison term was “wholly out of proportion,” particularly since Randall Swartz is in his 60s.
Swartz, the defense attorney said, should have an opportunity after serving a prison sentence to someday be free.
“He’s not going to have a family to return to, that’s 100 percent clear,” Sussman said of his client. “He’s going to be a lone wolf. His goal is just to live off the land and stay away from people.”
Randall Swartz also briefly addressed the judge.
“I want to apologize for what I’ve done,” he said. “I am responsible for what happened and I’m ready to be sentenced for it.”
