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EDWARDSVILLE — Pennsylvania State Police say the death of a 49-year-old man whose body was found Saturday behind the Kmart Shopping Plaza is being investigated as a homicide after an autopsy found he was stabbed to death.
State police said forensic pathologist Dr. Gary Ross ruled Tuesday that Kurt Robert Swan, a local homeless man previously known to be living in a camp in Kirby Park near the Susquehanna River, died as a result of multiple stab wounds.
In an interview with Times Leader in 2012, Swan said his daily routine often involved visiting downtown Wilkes-Barre, going to church and eating at the kitchen on Jackson Street. Swan described the growing homeless problem, saying that he lived among as many as 100 other people along the Susquehanna River.
He said the winter months were especially difficult, as the homeless community would often find themselves in jail for trying to seek shelter from the cold.
Swan admitted he had gone through “a drinking spell.” A search of court records revealed a litany of arrests for public drunkeness and disorderly conduct, although it appeared he hadn’t had a brush with the law locally since last year.
Swan’s body was discovered by a passerby about 8:17 a.m. Saturday, police said. State police, along with Edwardsville Borough police, the Luzerne County Detective Division and the county coroner’s office immediately began investigating the circumstances surrounding Swan’s death.
Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact Pennsylvania State Police by phone at 570-697-2000.