Deaths of Du Quoin couple declared murder-suicide

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[A private visitation and graveside service will bring closure to Friday's murder-suicide of Irene Swallers and husband Joe Swallers of Du Quoin.

Joseph L. Swallers, 59, and his estranged wife Irene, 48 - both employees of the Fleetwood convenience store on state Route 4 in Willisville - had apparently agreed to meet on the backside of the intersection of state routes 13-127 and Pyatt's Blacktop west of Du Quoin to talk about their marital problems. The runaround road fronts an old oil bulk plant.

The Perry County Sheriff's Department on Monday described the meeting as being "on neutral ground."

Irene had left her job at Fleetwoods about a week ago, according to employees, who didn't know why. Joe was a United States Army veteran who recently retired from the Illinois Department of Corrections and had been working alongside his wife, who managed Fleetwoods. She had lost her job as manager of the 4-Villy Shell station on West Main Street in Du Quoin over a year ago when the gas mart temporarily closed.

Joe was performing maintenance at the same store.

As recently as Thursday, Irene had called relatives to talk about buying Christmas presents for a granddaughter by their son Joe's earlier marriage. That conversation seemed normal with little sign of distress in her voice.

At about 2 p.m. Friday, the Perry County Sheriff's Department got an Emergency 911 call from a highway worker who said he had found a car parked on the shoulder that contained the bodies of two people, a gun and blood.

The bodies were Joe and Irene - both in her car - with Joe's truck nearby. The crime scene investigation began there.

The car was towed to the sheriff's impound garage where the sheriff's crime scene investigators - Officers Josh Harsy and William Reagan with the assistance of Du Quoin Officer Rustin Juhl - continued their investigation.

Perry County Sheriff Keith Kellerman said Joe apparently left his truck parked and climbed into Irene's car where he shot her, then turned the gun on himself. Perry County Coroner Paul Searby said Illinois law was changed about a year ago to no longer require a coroner's inquest into the deaths.

The Swallers had lived on Maple Street in Du Quoin for many years, but a nearby neighbor said their marriage began falling apart two or three months ago and that Irene had been living with a daughter. The neighbor said Joe told him, "If she ever divorces me, I'll kill her."

He did.

Since their tragic deaths, two people close to the couple both said the same thing. They felt it was only a matter of time.