Overview
- Deputies identified the suspect as Michael Smith, 39, a former client who was found dead the next morning in an apparent suicide on Windy Ridge Road.
- The attack occurred around 9 p.m. at White’s office on the 900 block of Lee Road after Smith demanded to see her and produced a knife when another patient moved to call 911.
- Rebecca White, 44, died at a hospital, and a male patient in his 30s underwent surgery and is expected to recover, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
- Court and arrest records show Smith had 2003 convictions for armed burglary, armed sexual battery using a knife, and kidnapping, serving nearly 18 years in prison and appearing on Florida’s sex-offender registry.
- Investigators have not disclosed a motive, and the Sheriff’s Office continues to probe how the attacker gained access to the office.