Victim of ‘95 attack dies after 11 years in coma

A Spokane man who was severely beaten in October 1995 died this week after 11 years in a coma.

Jeffrey Charles Feagan, 46, succumbed to his injuries Tuesday at a nursing home. He spent more time in the nursing home than his principal attacker, John Levi Swiger, spent in prison.

Spokane County Superior Court juries twice convicted Swiger of first-degree assault – in 1996 and, after that conviction was overturned, in November 2001. He originally was sentenced to 10 1/4 years in prison, but Judge Robert Austin gave him 7 3/4 years the second time, with credit for the 2 1/3 years he had already served.

Prosecutor Steve Tucker said Thursday night that he didn’t know whether any new charge can be brought against Swiger or his two accomplices now that Feagan has died. He said he has never encountered a case in which a victim lingered so long before dying.

“I’ll be looking into it Friday morning,” Tucker said.

Feagan was 35 years old and a 15-year Coast Guard veteran when he and his younger brother, Tim Feagan, were attacked by three men whose pickup nearly hit Feagan’s car at an intersection.

The men in the pickup followed Feagan and his brother to the Tidyman’s store at 6401 N. Cedar Road. Police said Feagan parked his car and couldn’t get it started again when four men in the pickup jumped out and began bashing his car. The brothers got out of their car, and three of the four men in the pickup attacked them. One of the attackers hit Jeff Feagan in the back of the head with a club, causing a 4- to 6-inch-long skull fracture.

Tim Feagan was knocked down but not seriously injured before the attackers sped off. Police had little solid information until they received a tip that Swiger, 22 at the time of the attack, and Eric Joseph Hood, then 21, were involved.

Police credited the victims’ family with helping break the case by posting fliers and offering a $2,500 reward.

Investigators determined that the third attacker was Jake Dalton Hatfield, who was 21 at the time of the incident. Swiger’s brother, Dale Swiger, didn’t participate in the assault, police said.

The Swigers, Hatfield and Hood all lived in Springdale, Wash., in southern Stevens County.

Hood was charged with first-degree assault, but was allowed to plead guilty to third-degree assault and was sentenced to 35 days in jail in exchange for his testimony against Swiger.

Hatfield was charged with first- and second-degree assault, but he was allowed to plead guilty to one count of third-degree assault. He was sentenced to eight months in jail.

Doctors initially expected Jeff Feagan to die. His family was encouraged when his coma began to lighten two months after the Oct. 14, 1995, assault.

Feagan opened his eyes and moved his head in response to the voice of his mother, Virginia Summers. But he remained in a vegetative state for the rest of his life.

A Rogers High School graduate, Feagan had returned to Spokane in April 1995 after a Coast Guard career in which he attained the rank of chief petty officer and traveled the world. He served aboard the Polar Sea icebreaker on a voyage from the Arctic to Antarctica.

Feagan’s friends and younger siblings called him “Big Bird,” after the “Sesame Street” character, because of his 6-foot-5 stature.

Efforts to reach his mother Thursday for comment were unsuccessful. Tim Feagan declined to comment.

Jeff Feagan also is survived by a daughter, Samantha Feagan, in Sacramento, Calif.; and by siblings Greg Feagan and Barbara Summers. A memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at Country Homes Christian Church, 8415 N. Wall St.