Man killed, stuffed in toolbox; Trotwood man indicted

TROTWOOD — A Trotwood man has been indicted in connection with the beating death of a 62-year-old Dayton man.

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Nicholas Swisher, 29, was indicted Thursday on one count of murder, one count of felonious assault, one count of kidnapping, one count of tampering with evidence, and one count of gross abuse of a corpse, according to Montgomery County Prosecuting Attorney Mat Heck, Jr.

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The charges are in connection to the death of John Mullins, a man whose remains were found near the 6500 block of Midway Avenue in September 2022.

Days before his body was found, Swisher allegedly lured Mullins to his home on Lensdale Avenue and beat him to death, a Trotwood detective wrote in court documents. He then reportedly put Mullins’ body in a toolbox and “disposed of him in the woods.”

After Mullins’ body was found, police told News Center 7 that there were “suspicious circumstances” surrounding his death.

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Trotwood Police Chief Erik Wilson told News Center 7′s Mike Campbell on Thursday that detectives were able to “obtain some physical evidence” that linked Swisher to Mullins’ death the day his body was found.

“This was a clear ‘Who done it’ and through (the detectives’) great efforts, we were able to come up with a suspect,” Wilson said.

Police were able to take Swisher into custody on Tuesday after he and two others allegedly stole a U-Haul truck. A crash report indicated he was behind the wheel as police chased after the truck. That chase ended, as News Center 7 previously reported, after the truck was involved in a crash near Hoover Avenue and Scottswood Road.

On December 12, Swisher was booked into the Montgomery County Jail. He is being held on a $1,000,000 bond.

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