Bond for accused killer: $1M

ST. MARIES — A man accused of killing his longtime partner is being held on $1 million bond.

John D. Dalton, 55, of Spirit Lake, is charged with first-degree murder, a felony.

Spirit Lake police responded around 7 p.m. Monday to the residence of 56-year-old Tina Swor.

Friends and family had requested a welfare check after they didn’t hear from Swor for several days.

Police found her dead inside her home.

She was shot in the head at close range, prosecutors said. She reportedly died Saturday night.

Police sought Dalton as a person of interest in the case. He was reportedly in a long-term relationship with Swor and had not been seen since the night of her death.

Law enforcement received a report Wednesday night that Dalton had been spotted in St. Maries.

A deputy with the Benewah County Sheriff’s Office located and detained Dalton.

Police obtained a warrant to search a nearby hotel, where they reportedly found evidence related to Swor’s death.

After conducting interviews, Kootenai County sheriff’s deputies obtained a warrant for Dalton’s arrest.

He was reportedly in possession of firearms at the time of his arrest.

In court Thursday, prosecutors argued for high bond, due to the “vicious nature” of the alleged offense and Dalton’s criminal record, which includes a misdemeanor assault conviction out of Oregon in 1995.

Dalton was charged with domestic battery, a misdemeanor, in Kootenai County in early 2020.

He later pleaded guilty to an amended charge of disturbing the peace. A judge placed him on unsupervised probation for two years and ordered him to complete a domestic violence offender intervention program.

Dalton completed the program in March, according to court documents.

Judge Ross Pittman ordered Thursday that Dalton be held on $1 million bond.