Brother’s murder recalled, 20 years later

GREENVILLE, Pa. — There is a park in Greenville that’s special to Mike Pratt.

Pratt said he met a lot of people there, and they were “a great comfort” to him after the murder of his younger brother.

“People met me at the park, and they sat with me,” said Pratt, who’s originally from Pittsburgh and now lives in Warren.

He’d have petitions there, and people would come by to sign them. They were trying to keep three people who were in prison for Roger “Butch” Pratt’s death from being released early.

Pratt is going back to Central Park again Tuesday, the 20th anniversary of his brother’s death. He figures he’ll be there around lunchtime. He hopes some of his old friends will come by again as he remembers Butch, 22, who graduated from Thiel College on May 15 and was beaten to death by a former college roommate a little more than a month later.

That roommate, Ed Swiger, from Tiltonsville, Ohio, is still in prison for aggravated murder and kidnapping. He was sentenced to 43 years to life, and will be eligible for parole in 2029.

“He and Ed were so close,” Pratt said.

Read more in Sunday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com