By Traciy Curry-Reyes
In 1971
Nancy Conn was a widow with two children. at the time that she, along with her cousin Charlotte Parks, were abducted from the parking lot of a bar.
June 1971
Co-ed Sandra Swisher disappears from the University of Alabama at Birmingham campus. Richard Ellard abducted and killed the Orlando, Florida native.
November 1971
Skeletal remains are found in a wooded area of Douglas County, Georgia. The body is identified by dental tests. The identity is that of Sandra DeeSwisher. Police received a tip on the location of her body.
September 1971
Ellard is charged with abduction of Nancy Conn and the murder of Charlotte Parks.
March 1972
He is indicted in the murder of UAB student Sandra Swisher.
April 1976
Richard is sentenced for the death of Sandra Swisher.
May 1972
Ellard changes his plea to guilty. He is sentenced to life in prison for the stabbing death of college co-ed Sandra Swisher.
April 1982
He is extradicted back to the custody of the Alabama Department of Corrections. He was placed in Kilby Correctional Facility to finish his time. He is 36 years old.
Tidbits
Ellard has red hair , freckles, and blue eyes. He is described as very soft spokenTwo prison escapes and eight years later, Richard Mark Ellard was released by the Alabama Parole Board in 1981. There was a public outcry regarding his release. There was such a huge backlash that state department heads threatened to sue. It was decided that he would be returned to custody to serve out the rest of his sentence. At the time of his return to Alabama, Ellard had been transferred to the Georgia Department of Corrections to serve time for the murder of Sandra Swisher where he is until this day.
