Granddaughter charged with murdering couple

By ROB POLANSKY

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    ENFIELD, CT (WFSB) — A granddaughter arrested in connection with the death of a couple in Enfield has now been charged with their murders.

Harlee Swols, 22, was charged with two counts of murder on Wednesday.

Enfield police were called to an apartment on Alden Avenue on Aug. 8 for a wellbeing check.

That’s when they found Swol’s grandmother, 72-year-old Maryrose Riach, and Riach’s boyfriend, 63-year-old James Samuel Bell.

One of them was observed to be in distress when officers arrived. Both appeared to have suffered “serious trauma.”

Bell was pronounced dead at the scene. Riach was transported to Baystate Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries.

According to an arrest warrant released on Wednesday, Swols told police that she arrived at her grandmother’s home that night to pick up some belongings and that some kind of argument happened. She said things got out of hand and that it “wasn’t good.”

Swols said that she had a black knife from the home that had been picked up by Bell during the argument. She said Bell initially came at her with the knife.

She said she was able to get the knife at some point. When asked what happened next, she told police “not good things, clearly.” She said she didn’t want to say what happened at that point.

Swols did eventually tell police that when she picked up the knife, she hurt someone. However, she did not say who.

She then requested a lawyer.

Swols, who was already charged over the weekend with violating a protective order as part of the investigation, was arrested on the murder charges on Wednesday.

Her bond was set at $2 million and she’s scheduled to face a judge later in the day on Wednesday.

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