Local prosecutor to appear on Court TV's Forensic Files

A local prosecutor's involvement in a Boone County murder case landed him a cameo on Court TV's top-rated program "Forensic Files."

The episode titled "Cop Out" will air Wednesday at 8 p.m. Central time.

Columbia police officer Steven A. Rios is serving a life sentence without parole for murdering a male college student, with whom the married officer admitted to having an affair. Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle served as the court's special prosecutor in the case that started in June 2004 and ended in May.

The body was found naked, except for undershorts. A single hair found on the victim's chest was the only forensic evidence recovered.

"This was a police officer who really knew how to doctor a scene -- no fingerprints, no footprints, nothing visible to tie him to the crime," said Swingle, who was able to get a conviction without a confession. "The only things he missed were some tiny bits of DNA."

The body also displayed an unusual pattern of bruising, not consistent with fistfights. Officers narrowed the suspects down to Rios when an investigator suggested the pattern was caused by a specific chokehold that officers use to subdue suspects.

The bruising and DNA were the two key aspects that attracted television producers to the case, said Christine Stewart with Medstar Television Inc.

Producer Tracy Evans followed Swingle for eight hours on Aug. 12. While the interview lasted about an hour and a half, the camera crew shot footage of case photographs and Swingle's activities. Evans also interviewed Columbia police officers, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Boone County coroner and the victim's mother.

Compared to the often dry delivery of forensic experts and prosecutors, Swingle "was very animated and did a great job of describing the facts in the case," Evans said.

Swingle and Cape Girardeau police will also appear in an episode titled "Bump in the Night," tentatively scheduled in April. The episode will highlight the 1990 murder of William Lowes.

His former step-son, Brian K. Crews, is serving a life sentence without parole.

jmetelski@semissourian.com