Cold case murder suspect in death of Ohio State student faces judge
According to court records, Brian Swanson, who has been living in Cincinnati, is charged with the murder of 22-year-old Charles Ballard, who was found shot dead on Feb. 8, 2000. Swanson was arrested March 28 and will appear in Franklin County Court of Common Pleas for an arraignment hearing at 1 p.m.
Charged with murder and aggravated murder, the investigation led police to Swanson, 48, after years of circumstantial evidence that tied him to Ballard's murder. For an earlier report on this story view the video player above.
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Based on a contemporary report from The Lantern student newspaper, Ballard was found the morning of Feb. 9 shot dead and partially burned in the basement of his East 17th Avenue apartment. Police said he was laying on top of a gun that may or may not have been used in the homicide.
Ballard was shot three times, once each in the head, chest and abdomen and he was lying on the basement floor and on top of some paper, which was partially burned. The bottom half of Ballard's body suffered severe burns, according to The Lantern, and were less severe on his torso and clothes.
Also burned was the basement door, which was left ajar, though police do not believe there was a struggle. It is still not clear how the fire was ignited.
Details of the decades-long investigation were revealed on a Columbus police podcast called The Fifth Floor, which described a dispute occurred between Ballard and an employee at the BP gas station near Ballard's residence. Police said that on one occasion, the employee followed Ballard home before Ballard scared him away with a gun.
On Feb. 18, 2000, police discovered that the same employee was seen about 90 minutes after Ballard's death, at 4:18 a.m., using an ATM card on North High Street. Officers questioned Swanson, who was wearing a mask while attempting to use the bank card.
The name on the card was Ballard's girlfriend, who opened an account and co-signed it with Ballard. She told police she never was in possession of the ATM card and that it was Ballard's card.
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The employee, now believed to be Swanson, said he found the card and was considered the main suspect in Ballard's death. The ATM card and ski mask were submitted into evidence, but he was not charged in what was described as a 'suspicious incident.'
The link between that incident and Ballard, however, was never confirmed, as the evidence appeared circumstantial, police said.
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