The following is a press release issued by the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office:
Defendant Mark David Schwinghammer (also known by his adopted name of Robert Wayne Sweet), age 41, formerly of Rochester, Minnesota, was sentenced Monday, Dec. 11th, in the Mendocino County Superior Court to 25 years to life in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Defendant Schwinghammer was convicted by guilty plea of the “willful, deliberate, and premeditated” murder on the beach of Timothy Dalton Sweet, the defendant’s then 30-year-old half-brother.
The murder occurred on September 12, 2021 in Westport.
The forensic pathologist determined during the autopsy that victim Sweet’s death was the result of a “Stab Wound of the Neck.” The pathologist also found that “Ligature Strangulation is a contributory factor” to the cause of death.
It its background study and sentencing recommendation, the Mendocino County Probation Department noted, in pertinent part, that: “Mr. Schwinghammer comes before the Court after he murdered his brother, on their mother’s birthday. Needless to say, the defendant’s actions were extremely callous and will have a lasting impact on their family; especially the victim’s six-year-old son…”
In its conclusion, the report asserts, again in pertinent part, that “Mr. Schwinghammer’s actions have no place in society, and he should never regain his freedom again, as [the victim’s young son] will never have a chance to be with his father.”
The law enforcement agency that developed the evidence underlying and supporting the defendant’s first degree murder conviction was the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.
The attorney who has been handling the prosecution of the defendant is Supervising Deputy District Attorney Eloise Kelsey, the DA’s lead prosecutor on the Mendocino County coast.
Mendocino County Superior Court Victoria Shanahan accepted the defendant’s guilty plea back on November 9th and ordered imposition of the life sentence Monday after hearing impact statements from the victim’s family members.
