OCALA, Fla. (Court TV) — A Florida man has been convicted of first-degree murder in the death of his husband, who investigators said was drugged, beaten and strangled before his body was moved to stage a fake crime scene.

Herbert Swilley was immediately sentenced to life in prison without parole following the verdict. Swilley was arrested on November 3, 2023, for the murder of 59-year-old Timothy Floyd Smith. The couple had been married nearly eight years when Smith was found dead in an Ocala apartment in March 2023 after he failed to show up for work.

Herbert Swilley booked in the Marion County Jail on Nov. 3, 2023. (Marion County Sheriff’s Office)

Deputies found Smith deceased in an apartment with a dark ligature mark on his neck and blunt-force trauma to his face and genitalia, acc

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