Bernard James Swain

The morning of September 30, 2017, broke over Oklahoma City, but for Bernard James Swain, a 27-year-old Black man, it would be his last. Before 8:45 a.m., he was found shot to death in a case that has since gone cold, leaving a family without answers and a community with the unsettling reality of an unsolved murder. The scant information released to the public paints a frustratingly incomplete picture of his final moments.

Very little has been made public about the specific circumstances of Bernard’s death. Media coverage at the time was minimal, a fact that has hampered public awareness and the generation of new leads over the years. What is known is that he was a resident of Oklahoma City at the time of his passing. The exact location of the discovery of his body remains undisclosed in the available online records, contributing to the mystery that shrouds his case. The lack of detailed reporting has left many questions unanswered: who found him, what the scene was like, and what, if any, evidence was collected by the Oklahoma City Police Department investigators who responded.

Those who knew Bernard, affectionately called "BK," remember him as a "sweet young man" and a "non-confrontational individual." He was a father to a daughter and worked in landscaping. This portrait of a gentle man and a loving father stands in stark contrast to the violent end his life met. His death is one of the many that contribute to the statistics of gun violence that plague communities across the nation.

The investigation into Bernard's murder is in the hands of the Oklahoma City Police Department. Despite the passage of time, no arrests have been made, and authorities have not publicly identified any suspects or persons of interest. The case is one of many unsolved homicides in a city that, like many urban centers, grapples with violent crime. For context, in 2017, the nationwide murder rate was approximately 5.3 per 100,000 people. Oklahoma’s violent crime rate in subsequent years has been noted as being higher than the national average.

A funeral service for Bernard was held on Monday, October 9, 2017, at the Isreal Chapel CME in Spencer, Oklahoma. His obituary paints a picture of a man loved by his family, leaving behind a grieving mother, father, and numerous siblings. The pain of their loss is compounded by the absence of justice.

Years later, Bernard James Swain's case remains open but inactive, a file in the cold case archives of the Oklahoma City Police Department. The department's Homicide Tip Line at 297-1200 remains a potential avenue for new information, a beacon of hope for a breakthrough. For now, the story of his death is one of lingering questions and a family still waiting for closure. The silence surrounding his case is a stark reminder of the many unsolved murders that leave lasting scars on families and communities.