Sep 18, 2002 By Christine Haines 4 min read

WASHINGTON – Testimony on the discovery of Ira Swearingen’s remains was the focus as the Gregory Modery homicide trial resumed Tuesday following a long weekend off for jurors. Two hunters, a state trooper, the Greene County Coroner and a forensic anthropologist took the stand one after another to recount their experiences on Nov. 28, 2000, and the days that followed. Modery, 31, of McMurray is charged with homicide, kidnapping, aggravated assault, tampering with evidence and criminal conspiracy in the death of Ohio medical consultant Ira Swearingen who disappeared Dec. 12, 1999, while on his way to assist with a surgery at Uniontown Hospital. His body was found nearly a year later.

Kevin Jozwiakowski and William McNeely recounted how they found the remains in a wooded area just off of Morris Hill Road in Greene County, not far from McNeely’s home. Jozwiakowski said he had been trying to drive deer out of the woods for his father-in-law, McNeely, when he first spotted the human bones.

“This last drive took me back up Morris Hill Road toward I-79. There’s a little triangle of woods there. I decided to cut the corner between the two roads through a briar patch. I noticed something to my left. It appeared to be the remains of a person,” Jozwiakowski said.

Jozwiakowski said he maintained a distance from the remains, but positively identified the bones as being human. He said he recalled media reports prior to the start of hunting season asking hunters to be on the lookout for the body of a missing man.

“I almost used my radio to contact my father-in-law, but I realized from the morning that other hunters were using the same frequency and I didn’t want to draw attention to the area,” Jozwiakowski said.

Jozwiakowski said he met up with his father-in-law about a half-hour later and told him what he had found, but the older man didn’t seem to believe him. He brought it up again after lunch and the two of them returned to the site by truck and verified what Jozwiakowski had seen before calling the state police.

“It was very clear they were human remains,” said Cpl. William Barnhart of the Pennsylvania State Police.

Barnhart was the first officer to respond to the call from Jozwiakowski and McNeely. Barnhart said the site was immediately secured and investigators notified. Barnhart said it was Greene County Coroner Greg Rohanna who immediately decided to contact Dr. Dennis Dirkmaat, a forensic pathologist at Mercyhurst College.

Dirkmaat gave detailed testimony on the recovery process that involved documenting everything found at the site by flagging it, mapping it and photographing it. Dirkmaat said that given the mummified condition of the remaining skin, it was apparent that the body had been placed in the outdoor location during the fall or winter months. The lack of soft tissue showed it had been there for as long as a year before it was found, Dirkmaat said.

Dirkmaat said he examined the bones after forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht conducted the autopsy. He said his examination showed that Swearingen, as the body was identified, had not suffered any broken bones during his lifetime, since there were no breaks that showed signs of healing.

“We did find fractures that showed no signs of healing involving his skull and the rib cage,” Dirkmaat said. “It indicates to me there was significant force on the body.”

Dirkmaat said most of the broken ribs were bent inward, though one rib was completely snapped. The skull fractures were apparently caused by a bullet wound, Dirkmaat indicated. He said a bullet cartridge was found about 10 feet from the body.

Under questioning from defense attorney Fred Rabner regarding the condition of the jaw, Dirkmaat said there was some fracturing to the upper jaw, though both jaws were intact.

The jurors were dismissed for the day following Dirkmaat’s testimony which ended around noon so the attorneys in the case could resolve legal maters regarding evidence in the case. Testimony before the jury will resume today at 1 p.m.