A Florida man who fatally stabbed his former therapist, then committed suicide, had previously been convicted of rape at knifepoint and served 22 years in prison, authorities said Wednesday.
Michael Smith, 39, burst into the Orlando office of mental health counselor Rebecca White as she was wrapping up a session at around 9 p.m. Monday, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office told the Daily News.
Smith demanded to speak with White, and she told him to leave. Her client, a man in his 30s, said he was calling 911, at which point Smith whipped out a knife and stabbed them both, the sheriff’s office said.
White, 44, and the other victim were rushed to the hospital, where White died. The second victim was initially in critical condition, but underwent surgery and is expected to recover fully, according to the OCSO.
At 7:45 a.m. Tuesday, a “man down” call led responding deputies to Smith, “dead by apparent suicide,” the OCSO said. No further information was released.
White was a highly regarded therapist in private practice, where she offered individual therapy, couples therapy and sex therapy, according to the website of her clinic, Down to Earth Therapy Solutions.
“This has been devastating for our community as therapists and for me personally,” White’s friend and former office mate, Cherlotte McCullough, told Orlando ABC affiliate WFTV. “Rebecca was an excellent therapist.”
One of her specialties was working with offenders, McCullough told Fox affiliate WOFL.
“It was a niche she specialized in,” McCullough told the outlet. “Just today, I got a few calls from people saying how good she was working with offenders around change.”
Smith had served 22 years in prison after being convicted for kidnapping, burglary and two counts of sexual battery in June 2003, in West Palm Beach, according to WOFL. He had forced a woman into her home at knifepoint and held her against her will while sexually assaulting her. He left the woman tied to a bathroom sink and returned later planning to rape her again, but she jumped out a window and ran for help. Smith was picked up at a local mall, convicted, served time and registered as a sex offender.
White’s murder raised “serious and troubling questions” about building access, security, surveillance and potential “systematic failures” that may have contributed to a preventable situation, White’s family said in a statement to WOFL.
“We are struggling to understand how this could have happened,” the family said. “Right now, our family is grieving an irreplaceable loss. We are heartbroken, angry, and searching for answers — but above all, we are mourning Rebecca.”
