Florida man who raised thousands after husband was killed has been charged with his murder

A man who raised thousands in donations after his husband was found killed in their home has now been charged with first-degree murder.

Herbert Swilley, 55, was arrested on Friday by Marion County Sheriff's office and charged with first-degree murder, months after his husband Timothy Smith, 59, was found dead in Ocala, Florida, after he did not show up to work.

Swilley had asked for a wellness check on Smith after seeing his husband's Jeep outside one of their two homes on March 24, claiming he'd last seen Smith the day before, according to the arrest affidavit seen by People.

Police were able to go inside the residence the following day, where they found Smith dead on a bed, noting he was "naked from the waist down" with "blunt trauma injuries to the face and possibly to the genitals".

The affidavit added that Smith also had ligature marks on his neck, and an autopsy revealed that he had died from asphyxia and a fracture on his cervical spine.

Following news of Smith's death, Swilley had set up a GoFundMe which raised $2,235 of a $7,500 goal, but has since been charged with first-degree premeditated murder in relation to his passing.

Swilley is facing one charge of first-degree premeditated murder and one charge of tampering with evidence, according to jail records obtained by the publication.

Marion County Sheriff's Office shared a video on Facebook showing Willey being transported by police as they shared an update confirming they'd arrested him on November 3 at 8AM.

They added in a statement that detectives had "investigated this case, gathering video surveillance, electronic evidence, and speaking to people who knew Swilley and Timothy.

"Through the investigation, it was established that on the night of March 23, 2023, or in the early morning hours of March 24, 2023, Timothy was dosed with a large amount of diphenhydramine (an ingredient in Benadryl and Unisom) that was 30 times higher than the normal therapeutic dose.

"Following that, Swilley murdered Timothy by choking him to death with an unknown ligature and fracturing his cervical spine. Swilley then used his own vehicle to transport Timothy’s body from their shared residence to a nearby apartment that they maintained.

"Once there, Swilley placed Timothy’s body inside, staged a fake crime scene, and attempted to destroy evidence using household cleaning agents. Swilley returned to their residence and then drove Timothy’s vehicle to the apartment where he left it."

The statement claims 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."

They added that Swilley had driven to a landfill a few hours later where he "dropped off what appeared to be two carpets from their residence before going about his day."

According to their investigation, Smith allegedly "previously suffered domestic abuse by Swilley. It was also learned that Timothy was close to securing a new job in another county and was planning to relocate there without Swilley."

Swilley was also reportedly named as the beneficiary to Smith's life insurance policies which totaled $333,000.

The statement added: "Initially, Swilley pretended to be cooperative with law enforcement and provided them with a preliminary statement but the investigation revealed that many of the things Swilley told investigators were false, self-serving, or contradicted by other evidence.

"When detectives sought to reinterview Swilley about these discrepancies, Swilley’s attorney indicated that he would only cooperate if he was provided with immunity from prosecution for Timothy’s murder."

Swilley is currently being held at the Marion County Jail without bond.

According to the affidavit seen by the publication, a mutual friend who was interviewed during the investigation had alleged that Swilley had a bad temper and history of violent outbursts, claiming he'd also made "homicidal threats".

The affidavit also claimed other friends had told police about Swilley's alleged temper, two of whom had also expressed fear of retaliation for speaking to the authorities.

Swilley was named a suspect in August, on the same day he posted about his anniversary with Smith on Facebook. His daughter, Jordan Swilley, was also named a person of interest in the case at the time, with the sheriff's office stating: "She, too, gave a preliminary statement but has declined to speak to detectives further."

Swilley is scheduled to appear in court next month and his attorneys have yet to release a statement to press.

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