A Florida man has been charged with his husband's murder after using GoFundMe to raise money for the funeral expenses. Herbert Swilley, 55, was arrested on November 3, 2023, for the first-degree murder of his husband, according to a news release from the Marion County Sheriff's Office.
Swilley's husband, Timothy Floyd Smith, was found dead on March 25, 2023, after officers were called to do a well-being check after Smith was not at work the day before. Swilley is also charged with tampering with evidence.
"Timothy had a dark ligature mark on his neck and blunt-force trauma to his face and genitalia," the news release from the sheriff's office said. An investigation was launched, which Swilley initially cooperated with before his attorney “indicated that he will only cooperate if he is provided with immunity from prosecution for Timothy’s murder," according to WFLA.
In August, Just before the sheriff's office revealed that Swilley was a suspect in the murder, Swilley took to Facebook to share a heartfelt post about his late husband. “It would have been 8 years we’ve been married. To be honest, I miss you every day and wish you were here. Life isn’t the same without you. I miss your smile and your loving spirit. To let you know, it’s a very hard day. Because I know we would have had a great celebration,” he wrote in the post.
More from LittleThings: North Dakota Woman Accused Of Poisoning Boyfriend Hours After He Inherited $30 Million
Following the news of Smith's death in March, Swilley also wrote about his late partner, calling the news "one of the hardest [things] I ever had to share." He also wrote that Smith "passed away unexpectedly."
Swilley also started a GoFundMe to raise money for Smith's funeral expenses. He raised more than $2,000. According to the news release from the sheriff's office, although Swilley was cooperative at first, "the investigation revealed that many of the things Swilley told investigators were false, self-serving, or contradicted by other evidence."
Through the investigation, they also found that Swilley had a history of abusing Smith. Before his death, Smith was planning to move away without his husband. They also found that Swilley might've had financial motives.
The investigation revealed that Smith "was dosed with a large amount of diphenhydramine (an ingredient in Benadryl and Unisom) that was 30 times higher than the normal therapeutic dose," according to the news release.
Swilley then allegedly choked Smith and moved his body from one residence to another. He allegedly "staged a fake crime scene" and tried to destroy evidence.
Swilley also allegedly deleted video evidence from the Ring camera. Smith's sister, Sandy Riels, told NBC that she learned of her brother's death via Facebook because Swilley never called the family to tell them about it. She also told the outlet that she always had "a bad feeling" about Swilley and "didn't want to be around [him]."
Many friends of Smith's expressed their love for him and described him as a great person to be around. “Tim was put on this earth to ease people’s suffering and bring joy because that’s exactly how he lived his life," a friend, Sam Draper, told People. "Anyone who came in contact with Tim is better for having met him."
Other friends described Smith as "kind," "loving," "selfless," "happy," and "a breath of fresh air." One friend, Tom James, told People, "When Tim spoke, people listened. But when you spoke to Tim, he listened like there was no one else in the room.”
