Jurors found Herbert Swilley guilty after prosecutors described a killing staged to mislead detectives.

OCALA, Fla. — Herbert Swilley was sentenced to life in prison after a Marion County jury found him guilty of first-degree murder in the 2023 death of his husband, health care executive Timothy Smith.

The verdict closed a case that began when Swilley called deputies and said he could not reach Smith. Prosecutors said the call was part of a cover story. They told jurors Swilley had drugged Smith with a massive dose of diphenhydramine, strangled him, moved his body and tried to make the death look like a violent encounter with someone else.

Smith, 59, was found dead March 25, 2023, inside an Ocala apartment the couple maintained away from their primary home. Deputies entered with a key from the landlord after Swilley reported that Smith was missing. Inside, investigators found Smith on a bedroom floor with trauma to his face and neck. They also noted ligature marks and the smell of a cleaning chemical similar to bleach. The case later drew renewed attention through true-crime programming that featured detectives describing the scene, interviews and trial evidence. Sgt. Daniel Pinder of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said the staging was meant to point away from Swilley and toward an anonymous sexual contact. “He wanted to make it look like the victim had met up with an anonymous person for a sexual meeting,” Pinder said in the program.

The state’s case moved from the apartment to the couple’s main residence and then to the digital trail investigators said tied the two places together. Prosecutors said Smith was at home with Swilley before his death and that no messages showed Smith had arranged a late-night meeting with another person. They said surveillance footage and electronic data showed Swilley leaving the primary residence in the early hours of March 24, driving to the apartment, returning home and later moving Smith’s Jeep to the apartment. Detectives said the pattern supported their theory that Smith was killed at home, taken to the other apartment and left in a scene built to confuse the investigation. Swilley told deputies he had last seen Smith two nights earlier after they watched television, then woke early and went to the gym, according to officials. Detectives said that account did not match the evidence.

Forensic evidence became a central point at trial. Prosecutors said Smith had diphenhydramine in his system at more than 30 times a normal dose. Forensic pathologist Tracey Corey testified that Smith died from trauma to the neck connected to ligature asphyxia and a broken neck. She ruled the death a homicide. Investigators also described blunt-force trauma to Smith’s face and genital area. The defense challenged the state’s case and argued investigators had focused too quickly on Swilley. Defense attorney John N. Klein IV said in opening statements that the apartment was tied to the couple’s open marriage and that police had not proven Swilley was there when Smith died. The defense also pointed to other possible suspects, but prosecutors said the record showed no outsider planned or carried out the killing.

The marriage and money also became part of the trial record. Prosecutors said Smith was the main earner and that Swilley depended on him financially. They said Smith was seeking work outside the area and that the relationship had become strained. In opening statements, Assistant State Attorney Amy Berndt said Swilley was angry about the possibility that Smith would leave and take a new job. She also pointed to life insurance policies totaling $333,000 and a retirement account valued at about $48,000, saying Swilley was the beneficiary of both. After Smith’s death, prosecutors said, Swilley created a GoFundMe for a celebration of life. Friends testified that Swilley appeared focused on property and insurance after the killing. Candace Baker, a close friend, said his response felt rushed and cold. “It was like everything had to go immediately,” Baker said.

Witnesses also gave jurors a fuller picture of Smith outside the crime scene. Friends described him as a warm and visible figure in the local LGBTQ community and in senior care. Michael Orsini, a drag entertainer who performs as Twila Holiday, said Smith loved bright clothes, parties and dancing. “When it came to Tim, he was the life of the party,” Orsini said. Others recalled annual gatherings, professional ties and Smith’s role as an executive director in senior living. Those accounts stood beside testimony about the couple’s second apartment, which witnesses said was used for sexual encounters. Prosecutors did not treat that part of Smith’s life as a cause of death. Instead, they said Swilley used it as a tool to stage a false story after the killing.

Swilley was arrested Nov. 3, 2023, months after the body was found. A grand jury indicted him on a charge of premeditated first-degree murder and a count connected to evidence tampering. He pleaded not guilty, and the trial began in September 2025. Jurors heard a week of testimony from investigators, forensic experts, friends, neighbors and family members. Court TV reported that Swilley declined to testify. Jurors deliberated for less than two hours before returning a guilty verdict on the murder charge. The judge imposed a life sentence without parole soon after the verdict. Records cited in local coverage showed defense motions for mistrial and judgment of acquittal were denied during trial.

The case’s public life continued after sentencing because of the unusual staging claims and because Smith had been known in Ocala and The Villages social circles. Law enforcement interviews later shown on television emphasized how detectives moved from the apartment’s surface appearance to toxicology, phone records, surveillance and statements from people close to the couple. Detective Karla Santana Palau described the condition in which Smith was found and said he had been left exposed after being strangled. Friends described grief mixed with suspicion as they watched belongings removed and heard talk about insurance in the days after the death. The defense framed the investigation as narrow and incomplete, but the jury accepted the state’s theory that Swilley planned the killing and tried to hide it behind a staged scene.

The next public record in the case is expected to come through any post-trial filings or appeal activity tied to the September 2025 conviction. Swilley is serving a life sentence in Florida.

Author note: Last updated July 6, 2026.