Husband arrived home to find dead wife on floor, so he covered her with blanket and went to sleep before calling 911 the next morning

A South Carolina antheral volition walk aggregate decades down bars for beating his common-law woman to decease and past staying successful the location with her dormant assemblage overnight.

In precocious June, Scott M. Horton, 59, was convicted by a assemblage successful Lexington County connected 1 number of murder for the June 2020 beating decease of 56-year-old Patricia Smerdell.

On Thursday, the 11th Circuit Solicitor's Office announced the suspect was sentenced to 45 years successful situation by Circuit Court Judge Debra R. McCaslin. Horton is not eligible for parole.

The onslaught occurred connected June 19, 2020, astatine the couple's residence connected Wynnsum Trail successful Lexington, a ample suburb located astir 15 miles westbound of Columbia.

The suspect himself made the 911 telephone that Saturday morning, telling the dispatcher his woman was connected the level and not moving oregon breathing, according to a press release issued by the Lexington County Sheriff's Office.

"Upon entering the residence, archetypal responders noted that Patricia Smerdell had been deceased for respective hours and had galore bruises crossed her look and body," the sheriff's bureau said.

At first, Horton told deputies helium had arrived location from enactment the nighttime earlier to find his woman unresponsive connected the floor.

"He stated that helium observed bruising connected her face, placed a broad implicit her, and near her successful the level overnight," the property merchandise reads.

Four days later, however, the man's communicative shifted, and helium made inconsistent statements "about erstwhile helium archetypal recovered his woman injured connected the floor," according to instrumentality enforcement.

The sheriff's bureau took enactment of the woman's injuries:

An autopsy was conducted astatine the Medical University of South Carolina by forensic pathologist Dr. Angelina Phillips connected June 23, 2020. The autopsy documented implicit 30 abstracted injuries to Patricia Smerdell, including aggregate patterned injuries accordant with the usage of a blunt unit instrumentality oregon instrument. The pathologist noted injuries to the victim's head, face, ear, chin, torso, shoulder, hip, and little back.

"The pathologist determined that the galore injuries were inconsistent with a fall," the property merchandise goes on. "The origin of decease was determined to beryllium blunt unit trauma to the caput and the mode of decease was homicide."

During trial, prosecutors established that Horton and Smerdell were the lone 2 occupants of the Wynnsum Trail location and determination were no signs of burglary oregon forced introduction connected the nighttime successful question.

The authorities besides painted a representation of a mates astatine likelihood with 1 another.

"Evidence acceptable distant that the mates had a past of animosity, including grounds from a neighbour that helium heard predominant arguments betwixt the pair," according to the sheriff's office.

In 2017 and 2018, instrumentality enforcement visited the location owed to disputes betwixt the couple, authorities said.

"During the sentencing phase, the household of Patricia Smerdell shared photographs and memories of her arsenic a mother, sister, and concern professional," the sheriff's bureau said.