Expert: Swain’s wife had panic issue

TORTOLA, British Virgin Islands—A witness has testified that a Rhode Island woman whose husband is accused of killing her during a scuba dive had a history of panicking underwater.

Glen Egstrom, a retired UCLA professor who has led diving safety research projects, testified Friday at the trial of David Swain in the British Virgin Islands.

Defense attorneys say that Tyre’s death was a “tragic accident.“ Prosecutors contend Swain killed Tyre during a 1999 vacation trip to pursue another woman.

Swain has testified he and his wife went their separate ways underwater and that he tried to resuscitate her when a friend found her body.

A Rhode Island jury found Swain responsible for Tyre’s death during a 2006 civil trial after Tyre’s parents filed a lawsuit. Swain was later charged with murder and extradited to the British Virgin Islands.