The daughter of a woman whose dismembered body was discovered in rural Davie County  last year has filed a lawsuit against the man accused of killing her.
David Hughes was named in the lawsuit as being responsible for the death of Patricia Swaim. The two lived in Hughes’ home off Serenity Drive in western Davie.
Hughes was charged with first-degree murder, but was found incompetent to stand trial by a superior court judge. The court remanded him to Central Regional Hospital in Butner, where he remains.
In the lawsuit, Andrea Swaim, administratrix of her mother’s estate, claims that Hughes killed Patricia Swaim with a gun. Hughes, the suit claims, was “reckless, careless and negligent” in his use of the gun.
“He knew or should have known that a loaded firearm is a highly dangerous instrumentality and its possession or use is attended by extraordinary danger, and having the loaded firearm in his possession, failed to exercise extraordinary care.”
Andrea Swaim asks for more than $10,000 in damages for loss of expected “services, protection, care and assistance … society, companionship, comfort, guidance, kindly offices and advice … and net income.”
The suit also asks for a jury trial. She is represented in the lawsuit by attorneys Michael J. Lewis and D. Stuart Punger.
Hughes was charged by the Davie Sheriff’s Department with first-degree murder after the victim’s body was found on March 23. Her daughter had reported her mother missing on March 10. Her body was found in a brush pile near the home.
The murder charge is not …