A confirmed victim of the Hammet cult, Joan Swanson was initially brought into the group after meeting Brandon Smith online. Brandon Smith was always very quick to encourage meeting potential donors, and Swanson was apparently more than willing to meet with very little time spent introducing herself to him and vice versa online.
Becoming jaded with conventional clubs and who she was meeting there, Joan Swanson turned to local fetish nights as she learned more about BDSM. Eventually she moved more into exploring worlds online, crossing paths with Brandon and involving herself in the Hammet cult. Kyp referred to viewing Joan as a very “distressed” woman, and that when she began hanging around she appeared afraid and vulnerable.
Sadly and arguably ironically, Joan Swanson was in the process of studying to become a nurse. This sends her actions into question due to her awareness of risk and also the solution.
The police have spent considerable time evaluating whether Joan Swanson had committed suicide by engaging in these acts, given that she knew the clinical outcome. However due to her absence from answering, there’s no real way of knowing.
Swanson left behind considerable debt after her passing, mainly derived from student loans and credit card frivolity.