DC Superior Court Judge Jason Park sentenced a domestic homicide defendant to 24 years of incarceration following an emotional sentencing on May 20.
Wyatt Swan, 48, pleaded guilty on Jan. 24 to second-degree murder while armed for his involvement in the fatal shooting of his wife, 53-year-old Teresa Francisco, on Oct. 1, 2024, on the 900 block of Eastern Avenue, NE.
Parties both acknowledged Swan was high on PCP during the homicide.
Before the sentencing, Swan’s defense attorney, Todd Baldwin, told Swan’s family “We’ll hope for the best, prepare for the worst.”
Francisco’s family attended the sentencing wearing “Justice 4 Teresea” shirts and gave emotional statements regarding the impact of her death. “Our family is broken, struggling to navigate this world without her,” said Francisco’s sister. Fransisco’s father said “Why would he kill my daughter? My daughter was a caring person.”
The prosecution also played clips of the incident that showed Francisco fleeing from Swan, hiding in an unlocked van, Swan following her with a gun, shooting her, and fleeing the scene.
“A level of brutality was involved in this case,” said the prosecution and asked Judge Park to sentence Swan to 24 years of incarceration with five years of supervised release.
Swan’s sister spoke on his behalf and said “The family knows him to be a good man…Judge, he’s not this murderer.” She added that his drug use is a different part of him and that she’s noticed positive changes in her brother since his incarceration.
Baldwin acknowledged that PCP did not kill Francisco, Swan did, but said the defendant’s PCP use should not be ignored as a mitigating factor. Baldwin described Swan as “a kind and gentle man” and requested a sentence of 12-to-15 years of incarceration. Baldwin also noted Swan accepted responsibility in his plea deal.
Swan apologized directly to Fransisco’s family. “I let y’all down the most,” said Swan through tears, and added that they had felt like his family too.
“It’s difficult to not be moved by the statements here today,” said Judge Park and acknowledged Swan’s display of remorse to Fransisco’s family. The judge noted the brutality depicted in the video and said intoxication is not a defense to second-degree murder because Swan decided to voluntarily ingest PCP while he possessed a weapon.
Judge Park sentenced Swan to 24 years of incarceration with five years of supervised release.
No further dates were set.
