Joanie McSwain, 78, and her husband Davie Lee McSwain, 82, were murdered in their Thomasville, North Carolina, home on October 29, 2015. Their son found the couple when he arrived to take them out for their nightly dinner. The Davidson County Sheriff’s Office determined the deaths occurred during a robbery.
Authorities identified two suspects from Davidson County, Lloyd Wayne Franklin and Jennifer Michelle Lanning. Franklin was charged with two counts of first-degree murder; Lanning was charged with being an accessory after the fact. Investigators say Franklin and Lanning took the McSwains’ dark blue 2006 Chrysler Town & Country van after the crime. Franklin was reportedly shot by Davie McSwain during the attack but continued on a crime spree and was later found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a Bucks County, Pennsylvania, hotel room during a standoff with police. Franklin was also suspected of robbing pharmacies in Aberdeen, North Carolina; Georgetown, South Carolina; and Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina while on the run.
The couple were described as kind and generous neighbors, and the community was deeply shaken. The investigation involved the State Bureau of Investigation and other agencies, and officials said the exact circumstances and motive remained unclear.
Did anyone in Thomasville know the McSwains well enough to help fill in details about their routines or about anyone seen near their home around October 29, 2015?