TORTOLA, British Virgin Islands — Shelley Tyre stopped breathing about eight minutes into her dive stated Dr. Tom Neuman, medical doctor and expert in hyperbaric medicine in his testimony yesterday afternoon in the High Court. While being examined by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Terrence Williams, the doctor said he reviewed David Swain's testimony in which he said that he (Swain) and Shelly took about four minutes from the Moorings line to the two wrecks. After that Swain claimed he lost sight of his wife. "It fits the general description that they reached the wrecks…and even if she was swimming at a leisurely pace…it would have meant they took about five minutes [to reach the wrecks]," Dr. Neuman explained. From his professional opinion, the medical doctor said Shelley died from drowning and noted that her damaged equipment spoke of a 'violent activity' which could not be equated to panic. 'I have never seen such damage done to equipment spread over this kind of distance, especially with the fin stuck in the sand [vertically]…there is nothing that I could describe in her medical report or autopsy that would explain her death. She drowned. How could she have drowned…I have no equipment or environmental causes…the only person down there with her was [Mr. Swain]. I really can't think of anything else than the fact Mr. Swain killed her," Dr. Neuman told the Court via video link. When asked if Shelley could have panicked, he stated, "The physical separation where the fin and the body were found ….does not fit the concept of panic… they [fin and body] should have been closer together," Dr. Neuman said. He reiterated the point that, "some sort of violence or violent action would account for her damaged equipment." Dr. Neuman, an experienced diver who has dived several occasions in the BVI and USVI, said diving spots in the BVI are considered 'benign'. "There is not a lot there for a diver to panic." He also ruled out sudden cardiac arrest and arterial gas embolism as causes of death. With ample air in her tank, Dr. Neuman pointed out there was no medical reason for her [Shelley] to have died in the water. During cross-examination, Hayden St.Clair-Douglas informed Dr. Neuman that Christian Thwaites had testified that Shelly had pink foam coming from her nose and mouth, and questioned whether the foam could be attributed to air embolism. The witness replied that the foam is typical in a drowning, and it could point to air embolism. Swain is accused of murdering his wife while they were vacationing in the Territory. It is alleged that on March 12, 1999 he drowned his wife, Shelley while on a scuba diving expedition off Cooper Island. | 
