FROM:
George Kennedy, District Attorney CONTACT PERSON:
Charles Constantinides, Deputy District Attorney
Major Case Unit
(408) 792-2589 For Release on July 30, 2003 1991 MURDER OF LISA HOPEWELL On July 29, 2003, the Santa Clara County Criminal Grand Jury indicted Mark Anthony Swanson (d.o.b. 12-11-70) for the murder of Lisa Hopewell. On January 10, 1991, Ms. Hopewell was found in her Cupertino home, bound in duct tape and with her throat slit. In November 1991, Rahsson Bowers, a friend and accomplice of Swanson’s, pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of Ms. Hopewell. Shortly thereafter he testified falsely that Rick Walker had forced him to assist in the killing. A jury convicted Walker of first-degree murder. On June 20, 2003, Walker’s conviction was vacated; the Superior Court declared him factually innocent of the murder. Bowers remains in state prison serving a life sentence. If convicted, Swanson faces twenty-five years to life in prison. Swanson will be arraigned in Department 31 on July 31, 2003.
George Kennedy, District Attorney CONTACT PERSON:
Charles Constantinides, Deputy District Attorney
Major Case Unit
(408) 792-2589 For Release on July 30, 2003 1991 MURDER OF LISA HOPEWELL On July 29, 2003, the Santa Clara County Criminal Grand Jury indicted Mark Anthony Swanson (d.o.b. 12-11-70) for the murder of Lisa Hopewell. On January 10, 1991, Ms. Hopewell was found in her Cupertino home, bound in duct tape and with her throat slit. In November 1991, Rahsson Bowers, a friend and accomplice of Swanson’s, pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of Ms. Hopewell. Shortly thereafter he testified falsely that Rick Walker had forced him to assist in the killing. A jury convicted Walker of first-degree murder. On June 20, 2003, Walker’s conviction was vacated; the Superior Court declared him factually innocent of the murder. Bowers remains in state prison serving a life sentence. If convicted, Swanson faces twenty-five years to life in prison. Swanson will be arraigned in Department 31 on July 31, 2003.