A Florida man who is accused of murdering his husband and staging the crime scene heard opening statements in his murder trial on Monday.

Herbert Swilley, 55, was arrested in November 2023, months after his husband, 59-year-old Timothy Smith, was found dead in an apartment . On the night of March 23, 2023, Swilley allegedly gave Smith a massive dose of diphenhydramine — an antihistamine — as their family settled in at their home for the night. After Smith passed out, Swilley allegedly beat him and then strangled him to death.

Prosecutors said in their opening statements on Monday that Swilley carted his husband's body to their other apartment and staged a crime scene that the defendant planned to blame on another sexual partner. Following the slaying, Swilley then notably started a GoFun

See Full Page