{"id":2534,"date":"2026-07-02T13:40:40","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T13:40:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2534"},"modified":"2026-07-02T13:40:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T13:40:40","slug":"lexington-man-gets-45-years-in-prison-for-killing-wife-sc-solicitor-says-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2534","title":{"rendered":"Lexington man gets 45 years in prison for killing wife, SC solicitor says"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>A Lexington man has been sentenced to 45 years in prison with no possibility of parole for murder, according to a news release from the 11th Circuit Solicitor\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2533\">Small plane headed for NC airport crashes in SC with two on board<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Scott M. Horton, 59, was convicted June 19 of beating his common-law wife Patricia Smerdell to death, the release said.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>According to the release, the murder happened more than six years ago on June 20, 2020, at Horton and Smerdell\u2019s home. When Horton called 911 to say his wife was not breathing, police found she had numerous bruises and had been dead for several hours.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Horton\u2019s story of when he found his wife was inconsistent, and pathologist determined Smerdell\u2019s injuries did not indicate a fall and that her death was a homicide caused by blunt force trauma to the head, the release said.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2532\">Lexington man gets 45 years in prison for killing wife, SC solicitor says<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Evidence at trial showed there were no signs of a break-in and that the couple had a history of civil disputes, which police were called to twice in 2017 and 2018. A neighbor testified the couple frequently argued, the release said.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>According to the release, Horton was immediately transferred to the S.C. Department of Corrections and began serving his sentence.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The presiding judge was Debra McCaslin. Suzanne Mayes and Jordan Cox prosecuted the case.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2530\">Heading to Myrtle Beach for Independence Day? Know these beach warning flags<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lexington County man Scott M. Horton, 59, was convicted of murder for beating his common-law wife Patricia Smerdell to death with a blunt object in June 2020.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2531,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Lexington man gets 45 years in prison for killing wife, SC solicitor says - US Moving Experts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2534\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lexington man gets 45 years in prison for killing wife, SC solicitor says - US Moving Experts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lexington County man Scott M. 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