In a chilling case eerily similar to the tragic murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska last year, an elderly woman was stabbed to death on a MARTA train in Atlanta over the weekend.
66-year-old Margaret Swan was viciously attacked by a homeless man named John Elijah Matthews. According to surveillance footage reviewed by police, Matthews walked up to Swan, pulled a knife from his pocket, and slashed her throat before stabbing her repeatedly 18 to 20 times. Swan screamed for help but no one intervened; fellow passengers on the train ignored the violent scene as she bled out.
Matthews was arrested at Oakland City Station shortly after the attack and faces a murder charge. He has been banned from all MARTA property. Swan, who had three children, five grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren, worked in daycares for over 50 years before retiring and regularly used MARTA to travel throughout Atlanta.
Her daughter Sams described her as “the foundation of her family,” saying: “My mom was the rock of her family. There was nothing she wouldn’t do for her family because her family was her everything.” Sams stated that no one helped Swan during the attack: “Everybody watched it and nobody helped her.” She also noted: “We can tell women all the time to be aware of their surroundings, but this is negligence, this is security negligence. Because there was not security.”
The incident marks the second homicide connected to Oakland City MARTA station since late April. MARTA has stated that it employs 280 sworn officers dedicated to protecting riders.