Cayce girl was killed day she went missing, Lexington County coroner says
Faye Swetlik, the 6-year-old girl who disappeared from her Cayce yard last week and was found dead days later, was killed the same day she went missing, the Lexington County Coroner’s Office said Tuesday.
The girl, who was reported missing Feb. 10, was killed by a man whose body was found shortly after Faye’s was discovered on Thursday, Feb. 13, the Cayce Department of Public Safety said during a Tuesday afternoon news conference.
“Evidence leads us to believe (Coty Taylor) abducted and killed 6-year-old Faye Marie Swetlik,” said Byron Snellgrove, director of the Cayce Department of Public Safety. “And it appears he was the sole perpetrator of this crime.”
Faye’s cause of death was determined to be asphyxiation, Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher said at the news conference.
Taylor’s death was ruled a suicide, Fisher said in a news release.
The coroner said Faye was not killed where her body was found. It was placed in a wooded area near her home in the Churchill Heights neighborhood a short time before being discovered by law enforcement on the morning of Feb. 13.
“Evidence further shows Faye’s body was moved in the shadow of the night, to behind the townhouses where she was found, in the early morning hours on Thursday morning under the cover of darkness,” Snellgrove said.
Her death is considered a homicide and was linked to Taylor, a 30-year-old neighbor whose body was also found Thursday in the same neighborhood. He lived at 602 Picadilly Square.
“This is a time of shattered hope and incomprehensible sadness,” Fisher said. “To Faye’s mother and father, my heart breaks for you. ... No parent should ever have to know such pain.”
Police found evidence in the man’s trash can that linked him to Faye’s death, said Sgt. Evan Antley of the Cayce Department of Public Safety.
That evidence included a polka dot child’s boot and a soup ladle with freshly dug dirt inside, Snellgrove said. Upon making that discovery last Thursday, Snellgrove said he searched near 602 Piccadilly Square and found Faye’s body just before 10:30 a.m.
Faye was last seen wearing polka dot rain boots, the department of public safety reported.
Minutes later there were reports of a man spotted bleeding on the back patio at the Piccadilly Square address, according to Snellgrove. The man was later identified as Taylor.
Taylor’s death was the result of a neck wound, which the coroner described as an “incised” wound. He did not leave a suicide note, according to Snellgrove.
DNA evidence showed Faye was inside Taylor’s home and linked him to her death, Snellgrove said.
“That DNA, once tested, connected the pieces of this horrific crime,” Snellgrove said.
Faye was reported missing in the afternoon of Feb. 10. She was last seen about 3:45 p.m. playing in the yard of her mother’s house in the Churchill Heights neighborhood off Airport Boulevard in Cayce.
Information about Faye’s location from when she was last seen until her body was found was not known. But Snellgrove said DNA linked the Piccadilly Square residence, Taylor and Faye to that address.
Taylor lived in the home about 100 to 150 feet from Faye’s home, Antley said. Taylor was not a relative or friend of Faye or her family. Taylor had no criminal record and “was not known to law enforcement.”
Taylor had a roommate who law enforcement has interviewed. Snellgrove said the roommate has been cooperative, was not in the home much last week, and there is currently no reason to believe he was involved with Faye’s death.
Snellgrove said Taylor was interviewed last Wednesday by law enforcement. Taylor was cooperative and gave consent to search his home, but the agents did not see anything that led them to believe he had anything to do with, or any knowledge about, Faye’s disappearance, according to Snellgrove.
Snellgrove later said law enforcement was given some surveillance video that shows Coty doing some things that were “suspicious to us,” but would not describe that behavior.
Taylor was a 2007 graduate of Bluffton High School and had attended the University of South Carolina-Beaufort until 2008. He later transferred to the University of South Carolina’s main campus in Columbia, but did not graduate.
More than 300 law enforcement officers from local, state and federal agencies were involved in the search for Faye, Snellgrove said.
“We can’t convey our sorrow,” Snellgrove said. “This was not just an investigation or a case for us. This was personal for all of us.”
Faye was described as bubbly and energetic and was loved by her teacher and classmates at Springdale Elementary School, Snellgrove said at a previous news conference. She liked fancy shoes and dresses, cats and spending time outside.
A public memorial service for Faye will be held Friday at 7 p.m. at Trinity Baptist Church in Cayce. Caughman-Harman Funeral Home said all expenses for Faye’s service and burial have been covered.
A candle-light vigil was scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday on the front lawn of the Cayce City Hall.
Faye’s teacher at Springdale Elementary School, Morgen Sightler, made an emotional Facebook post mourning the child’s death.
“These past 4 days have been an experience no parent, teacher or child should ever have to face,” Sightler said. “I can’t help but think of all of the wonderful memories we had together in these 7 short months. I will miss your morning hugs, your bright eyed smile, you skipping down the hall ready for anything and everything, the excitement you had when I told you to kiss your brain, your curiosity, your kindness, your stories, but most of all...your ability to love unconditionally.
“On Monday I remember you telling me, Mrs. Tynes and Mrs. Prosser all about your new purple dress from Target and how it was just the right size for you. I pray you are dancing, skipping, and loving on everybody in that purple, size 7/8 dress right now in Heaven. I pray for your peace. I pray for all of us to spread your love at school and just cherish the memories we had with you.
“It will be different in the world without you Faye, a lot different. No teacher is ever prepared for that empty spot in the room. We pray to feel that joy again that we had on Monday. Please give me, Mrs. Tynes and Mrs. Prosser the strength to be that comfort for our students. ‘We miss you Faye, more than anything and it is okay to be sad.’”
“Faye, you taught us more than we could ever teach you and we are so thankful for that. Rest In Peace sweet angel.”
This story was originally published February 18, 2020 at 3:13 PM with the headline "Cayce girl was killed day she went missing, Lexington County coroner says."
