By Jackie Seabolt
Enterprise Record
The man charged with killing and dismembering Patricia Yvette Swaim last year was returned to Davie County Jail this month.
David Earl Hughes, 56, was charged with the first-degree murder of Swaim after her dismembered body was found March 23, 2011 under a brush pile near the home they shared on Serenity Trail.
Hughes was deemed incapable of standing trial in September and has since been at NC Central Regional Hospital in Butner. He was brought back to Davie Jail following a district court hearing at Central Hospital two weeks ago where a judge ordered his release from that facility.
But an order issued here June 4 says that Hughes is still unable to proceed and that “it is unlikely he will ever be restored to capacity to proceed.”
According to Assistant District Attorney Greg Brown, Hughes will be re-evaluated by physicians at Central Hospital to determine if his status as being unable to proceed could be changed with treatment and medication.
Swaim, 49, was first reported as a missing person by her daughter on March 10, 2011.
When Hughes was arrested March 23, 2011 he used a cane to walk during his court appearances, needed assistance with stairs, and often moved slowly. He had suffered strokes and has a brain injury, but details of the forensic findings in the case were sealed by the district attorney’s office in March.
Hughes’ case remains removed from the trial calendar until he is returned to Davie County Jail by NC Central Regional Hospital ...