Jurors convicted Scott Horton six years after Patricia Smerdell was found beaten to death inside the couple’s Lexington County home.

LEXINGTON, S.C. — A South Carolina man has been sentenced to 45 years in prison for murdering his common-law wife, ending a case that began when he called 911 and said he had found her unresponsive on the floor of their home after leaving her there overnight.

Scott M. Horton, 59, was convicted of murder in the death of 56-year-old Patricia Smerdell following a jury trial in Lexington County. Circuit Court Judge Debra R. McCaslin imposed the prison term after jurors returned a guilty verdict on June 19. Prosecutors said Horton will not be eligible for parole. The sentence followed nearly six years of investigation and court proceedings centered on Smerdell’s extensive injuries, Horton’s changing account of the night she died and evidence that no one else appeared to have entered the home.

The case began on the morning of June 20, 2020, when Horton called 911 to report that Smerdell was not breathing and was lying unresponsive on the floor. Lexington County sheriff’s deputies and other first responders went to the couple’s home on Wynnsum Trail. Authorities said Smerdell had already been dead for several hours. Responders also saw numerous bruises on her face and body, injuries that immediately raised questions about how she had died and what had happened inside the residence before Horton placed the emergency call.

Horton initially told investigators that he had returned from work the previous night and found Smerdell injured and unresponsive on the floor, according to the 11th Circuit Solicitor’s Office. He said he noticed bruising on her face, covered her with a blanket and left her on the floor until the next morning. He did not call 911 that night. Four days later, authorities said, Horton gave investigators a second account that included inconsistent statements about when he had first found Smerdell injured.

The medical evidence became a central part of the prosecution. An autopsy was performed June 23, 2020, at the Medical University of South Carolina by forensic pathologist Dr. Angelina Phillips. The examination documented more than 30 separate injuries. Prosecutors said several were patterned injuries consistent with the use of a blunt-force tool or instrument. The injuries affected several areas of Smerdell’s body, including her head and torso. Phillips concluded that the injuries could not be explained by an accidental fall.

The autopsy determined that Smerdell died from blunt-force trauma to the head and classified the manner of death as homicide. That finding allowed prosecutors to challenge any suggestion that she had simply fallen and suffered a fatal injury while Horton was away. The number, location and nature of the injuries instead supported the state’s position that Smerdell had been repeatedly struck. Authorities have not publicly identified the specific object prosecutors believed was used to inflict the fatal injuries.

At trial, prosecutors also focused on the condition of the home and who was present when Smerdell died. Evidence showed that Horton and Smerdell were the only two occupants of the Wynnsum Trail residence. Investigators found no signs of burglary or forced entry, and no property of value was reported missing. Those circumstances undercut the possibility that an unknown intruder had entered the residence, attacked Smerdell and then left without disturbing the home or taking anything.

The state presented evidence about tension within the couple’s relationship as part of its case. A neighbor testified that frequent arguments could be heard between Horton and Smerdell, according to prosecutors. Law enforcement officers had also been called to the residence in 2017 and 2018 because of disputes involving the couple. The earlier calls did not by themselves establish what occurred in June 2020, but prosecutors used them to show a documented history of conflict inside the household.

Jurors were asked to consider those separate strands of evidence together: the medical findings, the absence of a break-in, the fact that only Horton and Smerdell lived in the house, and Horton’s inconsistent statements about when he discovered her. The prosecution did not need to establish that any single circumstance proved the case on its own. Instead, it argued that the combined evidence showed Horton was responsible for the fatal beating and that his original explanation did not fit the physical evidence.

The jury returned its murder verdict on June 19, 2026, almost six years to the day after Horton’s 911 call. The case was prosecuted by 11th Circuit Deputy Solicitor Suzanne Mayes and Assistant Solicitor Jordan Cox. The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department investigated the killing. The solicitor’s office announced the sentence July 1, confirming that McCaslin had ordered Horton to serve 45 years in the South Carolina prison system without parole eligibility.

During the sentencing phase, Smerdell’s relatives shared photographs and memories describing her life beyond the evidence presented during the trial. The family remembered her as a mother, a sister and a business professional, according to the solicitor’s office. Such statements allow relatives to tell the court how a killing affected them and to place the victim’s identity and relationships into the sentencing record before a judge determines the punishment.

The 45-year term represents the court’s final judgment at the trial level, but the public materials reviewed for this report did not detail any planned appeal or other post-trial filing by Horton. He has been transferred to the custody of the South Carolina Department of Corrections to begin serving his sentence. No parole hearing will shorten the term because prosecutors said the murder sentence carries no parole eligibility.

Author note: Last updated July 30, 2026.