Faye Swetlik died of asphyxiation said Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

Coty Scott Taylor,30, killed her. His DNA was on her body. Faye is the six-year-old who went missing from her Churchill Heights home in Cayce on the afternoon of Monday, Feb. 10.

Cayce Department of Public Safety Director Byron Snellgrove said at approximately 10 a.m. Thursday (Feb. 13) Cayce officers found a polka-dot boot and a soup ladle that had freshly dug dirt on it, in the trash can that belonged to 602 Piccadilly Square, the home of Taylor.

Snellgrove said those were clues that were related to Faye’s murder. Then, just before 10:30 a.m., Snellgrove said he located the body of little Faye, and Taylor, at that time, was described as bleeding on his back porch.After Tuesday’s press conference, Fisher issued a release stating that Taylor committed suicide, cutting his own throat.  

Fisher also said Faye’s death took place only a few hours after she went missing, Monday (Feb 10) afternoon. Fisher declined to release any more information, or describe the condition of Faye’s body, out of respect for the child’s family.  

“No parent should have to know such pain,” said Fisher. She and Snellgrove, who choked back tears as he spoke, said it is a case they would never forget. Nor would they ever forget little Faye. 

Snellgrove said Taylor had been interviewed and his home searched. He also had a roommate, but Snellgrove said there was no evidence the roommate was aware of the abduction or the murder. 

Snellgrove provided details of the search for Faye. He said Cayce police arrived at Faye’s home at 5:03 p.m., Feb. 10, Monday after getting a call about 5 p.m., that Faye had been missing since about 3:45 p.m. 

He said Faye’s mother had looked everywhere possible for her daughter before calling police. “Her mother did what most parents would do,” Snellgrove said. He also said the 6-year-olds’ mother was frantic.  By 6 p.m. Monday, Snellgrove said immediate assistance was requested from SLED and the FBI.

Soon the Churchill Heights neighborhood was blanketed. By 7 p.m. 90 people, from several agencies, were searching for Faye and the SLED Helicopter was deployed and several K9 teams were searching. NCIC and BOLO bulletins were issued to every agency in the region. Before the end of the search more than 300 were on the team looking for Faye.

Snellgrove said law enforcement shut down the neighborhood and stopped anyone coming in. Police also set up roadblocks and looked in vehicles. “Everyone was very cooperative,” Snellgrove said.