Killer Investigations goes inside Timothy Smith's murder (photos provided)
A Florida man is accused of drugging his husband, health care executive and LGBTQ advocate Timothy Smith, then strangling him and staging the scene inside a private apartment used for sexual encounters to make the killing appear like a consensual hookup gone wrong, investigators are now saying in the new A&E series, Killer Investigations.
The investigation into the murder of Smith is featured in the newly released episode, "Murder in the Sex Studio."
Detectives said Smith's husband, Herbert Swilley, used a lethal dose of an allergy medicine to incapacitate Smith before killing him and staging the crime scene.
"He wanted to make it look like the victim had met up with an anonymous person for a sexual meeting," Sgt. Daniel Pinder, an investigator for the Marion County Sheriff's Office, said in the episode.
Candy Baker, a close friend, recalled learning of Smith's death and the days that followed.
"When I got the call that he was gone, I just fell to my knees and screamed," Baker said. "There wasn't a person he wouldn't help."
Baker also described what she said was troubling behavior by Swilley after the killing, including efforts to remove or dispose of Smith's personal belongings quickly.
"It was like everything had to go immediately," Baker said.
Another friend, Michael Orsini, a prominent member of the LGBTQ community and drag entertainer who performs as Twila Holiday, praised Smith's advocacy.
"He loved the feathers, the sequins, the rhinestones," Orsini said. "When it came to Tim, he was the life of the party. If he had the chance to get up and dance, he absolutely took it."
The episode takes viewers through the investigation, including dramatic body camera footage of deputies entering the apartment and processing the crime scene.
"He was left there naked, exposed. He had been strangled," Marion County Sheriff's Office Detective Karla Santana Palau said.
Swilley was later convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Killer Investigations, written by Emmy and Peabody Award-winning journalist Brian Ross, examines major homicide cases through law enforcement interviews, forensic evidence, and trial testimony. Executive Producers for Law&Crime Productions are Brian Ross & Rhonda Schwartz. Executive Producers for A&E are Brad Abramson, Michael Gelman and Elaine Frontain-Bryant.
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