Cause of death of nationally known reporter unknown
Belizeans are shocked tonight following the sudden death of Tropical Vision Limited (Channel 7) reporter Keith Kevin Swift, 30.
Details are sketchy at this time, but Swift’s body was discovered at his Lizarraga Avenue home this evening around 5:15.
According to reliable reports to Amandala, Swift did not report to work this morning. We understand that he had severe arthritis pain and was taking medication for it.
According to colleague and Channel 7 anchor Indira Craig, the body was discovered by roommate Mark Bowman on the floor of Keith’s bedroom, apparently “visibly lifeless,” and with a substance said to be foam coming from his mouth.
Police are treating the case as sudden death and until an autopsy has been conducted, the cause of death is undetermined, though preliminary indications are that foul play has been ruled out.
A resident of the area who knew Keith told Amandala tonight at the scene that for some days now, the newsman appeared to be suffering bouts of depression.
Craig refuted early reports that her colleague’s death may have been the result of suicide, stating that until the autopsy results are complete, what killed Keith is unknown.
Residents of Lizarraga Avenue lined the streets around 7:20 this evening as the body was brought out by police and taken away in a police pickup to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital just around the corner.
Also present were several of Keith’s many media colleagues, from the Guardian and Reporter newspapers and their competitor, Great Belize Television (Channel 5), in addition to Kremandala.
Swift, working at Channel 7 for 12 years, had won at least one regional news award for his news coverage. He was also briefly a former news editor at KREM Radio.
Channel 7’s news director and Keith’s boss, Jules Vasquez, told Amandala tonight that when Keith, who is normally in at work by 9:00 to 9:30 every morning and never missed more than ten days of work in over a decade of reporting, did not show up today and failed to call or text in, he actually thought nothing of it, given what he knew of Keith’s medical condition.
But after he was called by Indira this evening after the discovery of the body, and as he dispatched Keith’s long-time right-hand man, cameraman Chester “Cody” Noralez, to the scene to join Indira, he told us, he kept “hoping against hope” that Bowman was wrong, that maybe Keith was dehydrated, or had just fainted.
That it is otherwise, said Jules, leaves a loss that is “indescribable, inexpressible… after 12 years, Keith was our rock. He was like family, actual family.”
As his employer, Jules stated matter-of-factly that “there is no reporter who has put in more time, more minutes on television, more stories – maybe because no one has been working as long – but no one has put in more than Keith. In terms of reliability, meeting deadlines, he was a rock. As news director, I knew what I would get from Keith’s stories.”
And in addition to his reputation – Jules claims than 90% of the time more people recognized Keith than him when they were out on the street – Keith was one of the first young black men in the local media industry, and as such became a role model and household name.
Funeral arrangements have not yet been made, but Channel 7 will put together a retrospective of Swift’s major stories, to, as Jules told us, “put him in context.”
Needless to say, our condolences go out tonight to Keith Swift’s family, and Jules and the entire Channel 7 team.
May he rest in peace.