Tragedy in Chico

The story of Cass Edison is nothing short of tragic. At age 55, the accomplished journalist had had many experiences most of her peers could only imagine—living in Singapore and the Philippines, being recruited by the CIA, starting her own newspaper. Alcoholism took its toll, though, and led to lost relationships, money, and even her home. Then, one morning last month, she was found dead, her body dumped in a stranger’s yard. A suspect is in custody and, based on evidence, the case against him is strong.

In a small town like Chico, such violent crimes are enough to shake the community to its core. Edison leaves behind many friends and family members, and those who didn’t know her must wonder: Who was Cass Edison?

“She was gentle. She loved animals. She was very bright and insightful; she had a nose for news. She was exceptionally smart,” said Grant Branson, Edison’s ex-husband, during a recent interview. “She was also an accomplished artist, and she cared about other people. She really loved her kids.”

Edison was born in Montana, but moved around a lot, including to Singapore and the Philippines, with her “architect” father—she learned later he was working for the CIA. She, too, was approached by the CIA, Branson said, but she had other interests. She graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Washington and by the 1980s was working in Los Angeles. That’s where she met Branson, a co-worker at a local newspaper.

“She went to work for the Downtown Gazette [in L.A.] … and she started to throw a monkey wrench in the workings of City Hall,” Branson recalled. “She got some great stories. She was a good writer and an insightful reporter.”

She also loved horses, especially her Arab gelding, Zaar. “We spent a lot of time riding,” Branson said, chuckling while recalling a few funny moments on horseback.

By 1992, the couple had moved to Chico, Branson’s home town, and started the North Valley Business Journal. It was successful, but shortly after Edison became pregnant with their first child, a boy, in 1997, they decided to close the business. In 2000, they gave their son a sister.

It wasn’t long after their daughter was born that the alcoholism that ran in Edison’s family really took hold, Branson said. She’d go through periods of sobriety and then start drinking again. It took a toll on their marriage, which ended in divorce, though the two kept in contact. The children, now 15 and 17, were in and out of foster care but were placed there permanently several years ago.

“She was a very caring and giving person,” said Tom Davis, Edison’s close friend. “She had a glow about her. She was very outgoing, and she was awesome with her children, very hands-on. The loss of her children really did affect her. Her children were her life. When they were taken from her, everything started to spiral down.”

The past couple of years were tough for Edison. She was in and out of local shelters, on and off the streets, and drinking to the point of being arrested or taken to Enloe Medical Center or Butte County Department of Behavioral Health.

“She was trying to pull herself together. That strength was still there,” Davis said, explaining that every time she found herself homeless she’d find a way to get back into stable housing. “But she was stubborn. She wanted to battle the disease on her own.”

Branson and Davis both expressed remorse over Edison’s death.

“Nobody deserves to be killed the way she was,” Davis said. “She was a good woman. She will dearly be missed.”

At some point around the Ides of March, Edison’s life came to an end. On the morning of March 16, a man living on the 200 block of Rose Avenue just west of Chico found her body wrapped in a blanket while preparing for work. It had been placed on a utility trailer that he planned to use that day.

He immediately called the Butte County Sheriff’s Office and what followed was some “rather extraordinary police work,” said District Attorney Mike Ramsey. The investigation led to the speedy identification—and apprehension—of a suspect.

Upon arrival at the Rose Avenue home, deputies were able to identify the body as that of Edison, Ramsey said. From there, they went to the Chico Police Department to pull her files, which included the name of a friend, who happened to have seen Edison the day before. She had called from Enloe, asking him to meet her there.

“He had been walking toward Enloe hospital and from a couple blocks away he saw Cass walking away from Enloe, toward his direction,” Ramsey said. “He then saw a gray primered truck stop and saw Ms. Edison talking to the driver of the truck and then get in.”

The truck drove north, the friend told deputies, who then tracked down surveillance video from a camera at Dutch Bros. depicting the vehicle. They brought that photo to the man who found the body, and he said the truck belonged to his boss, Christopher Swihart, who also owned the utility trailer on which her body was found.

“At that point, they had him,” Ramsey said. “They determined where Mr. Swihart lived … and got a search warrant for [his travel trailer]. There, they discovered evidence definitely tying him to the murder.”

One of Swihart’s neighbors reportedly said he’d recently started seeing Edison and Swihart together. The exact nature of their relationship is unknown at this time. Swihart, 49, turned himself in to authorities March 18.

“From the evidence found in his [travel] trailer, it indicated Ms. Edison was killed there and then dumped in the [utility] trailer,” Ramsey said. “We feel we have a strong case. It will be even stronger when the DNA and forensics are put together.”

Swihart is no stranger to the court system. Three criminal convictions stand out. The first is a felony from 1991 in which Swihart was sentenced to four years in state prison for domestic violence. Details were unavailable as of press time.

The second was in 2006, when Swihart was again convicted of felony domestic violence, this time being sentenced to three years in prison. During that incident, he and his then-girlfriend, who was one month pregnant, were in his truck when they began to argue about the pregnancy. He punched her in the face and she got out and ran to a neighbor’s house. But Swihart followed and proceeded to assault her outside the house until the neighbors “rescued her,” Ramsey said.

The third felony conviction was in 2010 and resulted in a six-year sentence. In that incident, Swihart and his then-girlfriend had an argument about sex, Ramsey said. Swihart grabbed a filet knife and threatened to kill her and then himself. When she tried to escape, he grabbed and strangled her.

Preliminary autopsy reports show the cause of Edison’s death was beating, with partial asphyxiation. Ramsey said that could have been caused by tape that had been placed around her head. Swihart is scheduled to be arraigned April 9.