Florida man pleads not guilty to murder of his husband at “sex apartment”

A Florida man has pleaded not guilty to the brutal murder of his husband, who was discovered with a broken neck and injuries to his face and genitals in an apartment the couple used for sexual liaisons with other men, according to authorities in Marion County and reported by Law & Crime.

55-year-old Herbert Swilley of Ocala was arraigned on December 5 on a charge of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence in the death of his husband Timothy Smith, 59. Judge Anthony Tatti set a tentative jury selection date for March 11. Swilley remains in county jail after being denied bond.

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Police say Smith was a victim of domestic abuse and that Swilley had recently learned his husband had secured a new job that would take him out of the country and away from Swilley. Swilley was also the sole beneficiary of a $330,000 life insurance policy Smith held.

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According to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, late on the night of March 23 or early the next morning, Smith was dosed by Swilley at the couple’s primary residence with a “massive” amount of diphenhydramine, the antihistamine commonly found in over-the-counter cold and allergy medicines like Benadryl.

Swilley then allegedly choked Smith to death so violently that he broke his neck. Cops say Swilley transported Smith’s body to the couple’s secondary residence, which the couple used as a space where they regularly “could engage in sexual acts (with other persons).”

There, Swilley staged a “fake crime scene” and “attempted to use household cleaning agents to destroy evidence” at both the primary and secondary residences. As well, Swilley deleted Ring camera video from the couple’s primary residence, investigators claim. 

“Swilley returned to their residence and then drove Timothy’s vehicle to the apartment where he left it,” police detailed. “Swilley then walked back to their residence where he accessed their Ring camera application; investigators later learned that surveillance videos from that night were not present. Then, a few hours later, Swilley drove to the landfill where he dropped off what appeared to be two carpets from their residence before going about his day.”

Claiming he didn’t have a key to their second apartment, Swilley asked for a wellness check after alerting police Smith hadn’t shown up for work that day. The following morning, the landlord provided cops with a key for entry, and they found Smith “laying in a bedroom naked from the waist down with ligature marks on his neck and blunt trauma injuries to the face and possibly to the genitals.”

Reviewing body camera video from the discovery, detectives “observed no visible emotional reaction from the defendant when told this news.”

Authorities described Swilley as initially cooperative, but details in his preliminary statement later proved to be “false, self-serving, or contradicted by other evidence.”

Smith’s sister, Sandy Reils, told WESH-TV that Swilley never contacted her after Smith’s discovery, and she learned about her brother’s death on social media.

“Just from the first initial conversation I had with him, he changed his story in that conversation three times,” she said.

Swilley’s arrest nine months later came as a relief.

“I just started crying and thanking Jesus because there have been so many prayers going up that we get justice for Tim,” she said. “This is a step in the right direction.”

Days after Smith’s body was discovered, Swilley created a GoFundMe, writing that his husband’s death was a “tragic loss for everyone, family and friends,” WINK reported. The effort raised over $2,200 in donations for a celebration of life and interment.