His eyes are what I remember most: dark, confident, evil. A suspected serial killer, in his own mind he was a cause célèbre walking the halls of One East with a self-aggrandized swagger that led us staff to believe he was guilty of using an emergency psychiatric admission to help foster the beginnings of an insanity defense, should the accusations brought to bear against him prove true: during a four-year period (1987- 1991) five women who he admitted knowing were murdered; their bodies dumped throughout the Hartford area. His name was Alfred Swinton.

"How are you, Sir?"

I told him that I didn't shake hands.

"Of course you don't."

I said it wasn't personal.

"And you are?"

I pointed to my identification badge.

High-profile patients weren't the norm for Cedarcrest; when they were admitted, the staff rumor mill presented an innuendo-filled psych/social history. For Swinton, the rumor mill didn't add much beyond conjecture and personal bias. The authorities said he bit his victims — his signature; the victims died from strangulation. I didn't know what to believe. My objectivity was fleeting. *Swinton was smooth in his portrayal of a black man demonized by police and the media. He made certain incriminating statements during a 1993 interview with Karon Haller, a freelance writer working with Connecticut Magazine. During the interview, Swinton offered his own spin on the murders. He pondered the affects of prostitution and drug use. He suggested sex was offered for money: the victim had offered sex in exchange for money, but then had tried to ‘‘skip out’’ with the money.

Haller asked whether the killer was going to ‘‘do it again.’’

"Summer’s long and summer’s hot."

Haller wanted to know why the killer doesn't just stop.

"If I knew that, I can stop tomorrow. If I knew that, I would stop tomorrow . . . so somebody could live."

For three months I observed Swinton integrate himself within insanity's milieu. He tried befriending staff; he enjoyed philosophizing with schizophrenics and the well-spoken manics. He presented himself with impeccable hygiene and a curious smile. I began to believe he was evil.

"Why can't I get a day pass? I want to visit with my brother."

Staff never let Swinton roam the grounds.

"You guys think I'm guilty."

Staff feared he'd try to rape while committed.

*In Haller's article Swinton's anger towards the police surfaced. "Give the police a pack of lies, all right. Have them arrest me, and look like, you know, like I don't know, like I was insane ... murderer. You have to be insane to bite anybody all over their body,'' he says.

Swinton was referring to bite marks on Carla Terry's left breast, which were used by a forensic dentist to identify him as the killer.  *On Jan. 13, 1991, Carla Terry was found strangled and partially wrapped in garbage bag on Mark Twain Extension in Hartford. Terry's body was found in a snow bank by a police officer about 4:45 a.m. on Jan. 13, 1991, as the officer patrolled an isolated road near the University of Hartford.

In 2001, Alfred Swinton (53) was found guilty of murdering Carla Terry; he was sentenced to sixty years in prison. Some suspect Swinton to have killed seventeen women. I don't know. I do know I'll never forget him.

photo: http://www.ct.gov/csao/cwp/view.asp?a=1798&q=291456

*STATE of Connecticut v. Alfred SWINTON.

No. 16548.

Argued Sept. 26, 2003. -- May 11, 2004