A 13 month long investigation into the attempted murder of Brandon T. Dykes has led to the arrest of two suspects, Matthew K. Swanson, 20, of Gilbert, Az., and the victim’s estranged wife, Ashley Dykes, 23, of Metcalfe County.
Ashley Dykes has been charged with Criminal Complicity to Attempted Murder after the results from a forensic examination revealed a plot between Swanson and Dykes to murder her estranged husband Brandon Dykes.
Ashley Dykes was arrested on Friday, August 10, 2012 and lodged in the Adair County Regional Jail on a $500,000 Bond.
Matthew Swanson has been incarcerated in the Adair County Regional Jail since July 16, 2011, the date of the incident.
Adair County Sheriff’s Deputy Justin Claywell is investigating the case.
July 2011 news article:
A minor injury accident may have actually been part of an intentional ploy to kill a local man on his way to work in Columbia Saturday morning.
Terry (Brandon) Dykes was traveling around 5:30 a.m. on Crocus Road near Hwy. 55 south of Columbia when the incident occurred.
Sheriff Deputy Justin Claywell said Dykes reported seeing the vehicle when he left the house that morning. Dykes is a youth worker at the Adair County Youth Development Center.
Dykes told police the car passed him once then stopped on the side of the road. The next time the car came up behind him rapidly, started to merge around him then sideswiped his vehicle.
Dykes called 911 on his mobile phone and the call was put through to dispatch in Russell County. While he was talking to dispatch, the driver of the other car walked up to him and stabbed him in the neck, Dykes reported. Dykes dropped the phone and began defending himself.
Dykes tried to grab the attacker and knocked away the knife, but the attacker pulled out a second knife. He stabbed Dykes again in the right inner thigh, according to Claywell.
When police arrived, Dykes had been stabbed in the neck and thigh, with minor cuts to his hand and shoulder. Even so, he was able to subdue the attacker until law enforcement arrived. Russell County Deputy Sheriff Jason Wariner was the first to arrive on the scene.
Deputy Sheriff Claywell arrived and arrested Matthew Kendal Swanson, 18, of Gilbert, Az. Swanson is charged with attempted murder and operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Claywell is investigating the case and said more charges may be pending. He is investigating a potential motive for the stabbing but would not elaborate on the case at this time.
Dykes was transported to Westlake Regional Hospital then flown to the University of Kentucky Hospital in Lexington.
Swanson is being held in the Adair County Regional Jail with bond set at $500,000.
By Sharon Burton
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