Man Accused of Overdosing, Strangling Husband So He Wouldn't Leave, Then Starting GoFundMe: Prosecutors

Smith's body was found in a Florida apartment in November 2023, but police don't think that's where he died. After a lengthy investigation, prosecutors explained just how involved they believe Swilley's plan was, as detailed by Law&Crime, as well as a possible motive behind the murder of his husband, who they said was the primary breadwinner for the family.

Amy Beth Berndt, one of the state's attorneys, laid out their argument in court on Monday, alleging that the marriage between Swilley and Smith had grown "bitter" over time as Smith took on the role of primary breadwinner.

Smith was earning six figures as executive director of Brookdale Chambrel Pinecastle, a senior living facility, according to ABC affiliate WCJB. Swilley, while working as a handyman, became dependent on Smith for the lifestyle they'd both grown accustomed to enjoying, according to the prosecution.

She said that they both struggled with alcoholism, but trying to get sober -- even with the resources available through their involvement with Alcoholics Anonymous -- only led to more arguing. Berndt said that it was when Swilley found out Smith was looking for a job in another county, which would have afforded him the chance to leave their marriage, that Swilley snapped.

"If Tim thinks he's leaving me and taking a new job in DeLand, he's got another thing coming," Swilley told a friend, per Berndt in court. She then said he referred to his husband in the past tense, saying that he and his daughter "loved Tim."

She characterized Swilley as angry and feeling cheated, telling the court, "He thinks Tim owes him. And he's not gonna let Tim leave him like that." And that, she alleged, is when Swilley decided his husband had to die. As motive for the killing, Berndt pointed out that Smith had a $333,000 life insurance policy and retirement plan at $48,000, both with Swilley listed as beneficiary.

On Tuesday, the prosecution invited to the stand a family lawyer who had met the couple at Alcoholics Anonymous, per WCJB, and who said that she'd heard Swilley talking about Smith on more than one occasion. "One of the things that sticks out in my mind is that he said early in their relationship he supported Tim, Tim was a lazy SOB, and he owes me. I spent all this money, and I bought the house, and I did this, and he owes me," she told the court.

In her opening statement, Berndt argued that the date of Smith's death was also significant, as March 23, 2023 was the day before what would have been his final interview for this new job. Berndt alleged that Swilley decided to drug his husband as the "easiest and quietest way" to kill him, and because it would mean his husband "couldn't fight back."

A forensic analysis of Smith's body found enough diphenhydramine -- sold commonly as Benadryl -- in his system that he likely wouldn't have felt the attack. It was only after he was under the affects of the drugs in his system, alleged the prosecution, that Swilley "beat him" and put a "ligature over Tim's neck and squeezed it so tight and for so long that he broke Tim's neck."

After his husband's death, Berndt argued that Swilley moved into the next phase of his plot, which was to blame one of their other sexual partners for it. The couple allegedly maintained a second apartment so they could engage in sexual activities with other individuals there, away from Swilley's teen daughter.

Berndt told the court that Swilley transported Smith's body to this apartment and then "staged" the scene to look as if someone had killed him there during a date gone wrong. They also cited surveillance footage showing Swilley's truck going to the apartment and his apparent "lack of concern" when told his husband was dead, per WCJB.

The day after his murder, prosecutors claimed that Swilley's daughter asked him where Smith was and he told her that he didn't know, asking her if she'd heard anything.

When she purportedly told him she heard a door, Swilley allegedly told her, "You didn't hear anything. That's all you need to remember" -- per prosecutors, adding, "If anybody asks, I was home all night."

In the days that followed, Berndt said that Swilley was "red-faced, sweaty, nervous, fidgety" as he attended an AA meeting and told friends he and his husband had gotten into a fight and he didn't know where he was.

He purportedly told them he'd seen Smith's Jeep at their other apartment, to which his friends told him he was a handyman, so why not just take the lock off the door and see if he's there. Berndt said that he countered that his name was not on the lease and he was worried he'd get arrested for burglary. Ultimately, the landlord allowed the sheriff's office inside, where they found Smith's body.

Two days after Smith's death and on the same day his body was discovered, Swilley launched a GoFundMe where he announced the death of his "dearest friend and partner." In it, he said that his husband of eight years had "passed away unexpected," per People in August 2023, calling it "one of the hardest thing[s] I have ever had to share."

The fundraiser was reportedly for funeral expenses and a "celebration of life" for his late husband, according to the magazine, with Swilley reportedly raising $2,235 of his $7,500 goal before police announced that Swilley was a suspect in his husband's murder.

"Detectives spoke with Mr. Swilley at the earliest stages of the investigation and they have been trying to speak with him again, but his attorney has indicated that he will only cooperate if he is provided with immunity from prosecution for Timothy’s murder," police said in a statement at the time.

Defense attorney John Nicholas Klein painted a somewhat different story of events, saying that Smith had become more secretive. He claimed that the victim stopped using the Life360 location app regularly because he did not want Swilley to know where he was.

Admitting that both men were "imperfect," Klein claimed that Smith was able to overcome his alcoholism by turning to sex. He further asserted that while that second apartment was used for sexual encounters with other men, Smith was the only one who used it for this purpose.

He then started pointing the finger at another possible suspect, an unidentified white, blonde man who neighbors at this second apartment had reported seeing around the area, amid what he described as "traffic" coming in and out of the unit.

Klein added that there was DNA evidence found at the scene that matched with prior offenders, but investigators had not thoroughly investigated those claims, instead focusing on his client because one of the detectives had "made up his mind" that Swilley was guilty.

Reasonable doubt has to be considered, Klein argued, because there is verifiable proof that other possible suspects had been in and out of the apartment where Smith's body was found.

As for claims that Swilley transported Smith's body to the apartment, Klein said that evidence seemingly pointing to this could not confirm that Swilley was driving Smith's vehicle to the apartment, or even his own, for that matter. There was also no evidence to place Swilley at the apartment at all that night, he added.

Swilley had a charge of tampering with evidence dropped, but he is still facing a charge of first-degree premeditated murder as his trial continues. It is expected to wrap this week.