ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A well-known therapist in Central Florida was murdered by her former client. Investigators say he then committed suicide.
Many who knew the mental health counselor say it’s a tragic loss. Friend and former office mate Cherlette McCollough said, “This has been devastating for our community as well as therapists and for me personally. Rebecca was an excellent therapist.”
Forty-four-year-old Rebecca White was a licensed mental health counselor. Deputies said she was having a session with a patient in the 933 Lee Road office building on Monday at 9 p.m.
As the session ended, detectives said White’s former client, 39-year-old Michael Smith, came into the office and demanded to speak with her. When she told him to leave, he stabbed her and the patient while calling 911.
Steve Kendrick, who works in the building, said, “Somebody told me it happened on the fourth floor, and there’s four floors.”
Deputies said White died, and her patient is in critical condition at the hospital.
McCollough said, “I’ve received so many calls from people saying how good of a therapist she was, specifically to the area that was her specialty, the niche that she specialized in.”
According to records, Smith had a criminal history in Palm Beach County that includes a sex offense and kidnapping.
Around 7:45 a.m. Wednesday, deputies said Smith killed himself near the Mormon Temple off Windy Ridge Road. Authorities went to his home in Pine Hills to talk with his family, but no one answered the door.
Meanwhile, workers in the building, like Kendrick, wonder when they’ll be able to return. “You walk in there and you think of the tragedy that happened. I mean, but you got to go in, you got work, you know.”
The property manager told reporters off camera that the building had to be cleaned after the murder. The patient who was stabbed remains in critical condition at the hospital.
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