THE body of a wealthy English businessman whose was life insured for £5.86 million was taken from a car in a Dublin canal last October, an inquest heard yesterday.
A Dublin woman with whom he had been having a long relationship told the inquest she did not know until after his death she was one of the beneficiaries of his will. She also insisted he had not committed suicide.
David Ivor Swaffer, a 62 year old share dealer from Roedean Crescent, Brighton, East Sussex, was found in his black Volvo 850 in two metres of water in the Grand Canal at Suir Bridge, Kilmainham, Dublin, on October 22nd 1995.
The deceased, a father of two, had taken out £5.86 million of life insurance cover. A legal team for 18 insurance companies is querying the circumstances of his death in the Dublin Coroner's Court.
During evidence, Ms Carmel Reid, a separated woman with whom the deceased had been having a relationship, insisted she did not know she was one of the beneficiaries of his will until after his death.
Ms Reid, whose address was not given in court, said her affair with Mr Swaffer began in the Dalkey Island Hotel 10 years ago. He used to contact her every four to eight weeks. He bought a flat in Milltown, Dublin, which he sold some three years ago as he regarded it as a bad investment.
She said he used to telephone her every Saturday, and on October 21st, the day before his death, he rang and told her he was in Ireland and wanted to visit her that evening. She was not too pleased as she had some work to do as a part time secretary. He said he would telephone later that night and suggested instead that they go for lunch the following Sun day. She said he was not in the business of calling very late, even though he had a house key. When he did not arrive, she was worried.
She became concerned when he did not turn up for the Sunday lunch. It was not like him.
It was not until a week later that she found out he was dead.
She got a call from his son, Eric, whom she had never spoken to before. He found her name on his father's insurance policy and decided to contact her. She was deeply shocked and shattered by the news of his death.
Ms Reid said she was aware the deceased had been married twice and had a son from each relationship. She and her own husband had been separated for 16 years.
She said Mr Swaffer was in the best of health, physically and mentally.
Ms Reid said she knew nothing about his business affairs but was aware he was financially comfortable. She did not know he had made a will or that she was one the beneficiaries. "The first I heard about this was when two insurance investigators called to my door and suggested he might have committed suicide. They behaved like thugs when they interrogated me," she said.
She said he was not the type of person to commit suicide.
Dr Marie Staunton of St James's Hospital, Dublin, told the inquest that at an autopsy she carried out she found no traces of drugs, alcohol or anti depressants. She said the death was consistent with drowning. There were no injuries present nor was there any evidence of a heart attack prior to drowning.
She added she found no evidence of injuries due to a motor accident. The deceased, who was a healthy 62 year old male, was alive going into the water but she could not say if he was conscious.
Mr Eric Henry Swaffer, the deceased's son, said his father had complained a little of coldness and may have been suffering from symptoms. "Apart from that my father was in good health and was relaxed and a well liked chap," he added.
The inquest before the Dublin City Coroner, Dr Brian Farrell, continues.