A Florida man was arrested last week will killing his husband earlier this year and staging a fake crime scene while disposing of actual evidence.
Herbert Swilley, 55, has been charged with first degree murder in the death of Timothy Floyd Smith, 59, in March, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
Marion County deputies conducted a wellness check on Smith on March 25 after he failed to show up at work the day before. They found him dead in the apartment with a ligature mark around his neck and blunt-force trauma to his face and genitalia. In August, investigators named Swilley a suspect in Smith’s death, as CrimeOnline reported.
Investigators later determined that Smith was dosed with 30 times the normal dose of diphenydramine, an incredient allergy meds like Benedryl and some sleep aids like Unisom, on the night of March 23. After that, detectives say, Swilley choked Smith to death and took him from their shared home to an apartment they maintained.
Swilley used his own vehicle, detectives said, and put Smith’s body inside the apartment where he “staged a fake crime scene.” Then he drove back to the shared residence and took Smith’s vehicle to the apartment, where he parked it and walked back home.
Investigators said Swilley deleted doorbell camera videos from that night and dropped off two carpets at a landfill.
The investigation uncovered that Smith had suffered domestic abuse on other occasions from Swilley and that he was about to secure a new job in another county, where he planned to move without his husband. The investigators also learned that Swilley was the beneficiary of $333,000 in life insurance benefits on Smith’s accounts.
Swilley “pretended to cooperative” in the early stages of the investigation but when investigators wanted to question him later about discrepancies in those statements, Swilley’s attorney told them he would only talk if he were granted immunity from prosecution for Smith’s murder.
Swilley’s daugher, Jordan Swilley, also refused to cooperate with authorities and at least in August was considered a person of interest in Smith’s murder. Marion County authorities did not mention her in the release announcing her father’s arrest.
He was arrested last week on murder and tampering with evidence charges and is being held without bond.
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[Featured image: Herbet Swilley is brought into jail in Marion County/Marion County Sheriff’s Office]
