A disgruntled former Florida tenant charged with the premediated murder of a female British realtor as she sat parked in front of the home where the assailant had reportedly been evicted was booked into the Broward County jail on Friday.
Raymond Reese, 51, was arrested in Boca Raton, just north of the palm-tree lined street in Coral Springs where he alleged shot Sara Michelle Trost, 40, multiple times on December 23 about noon as she sat behind the wheel of her Jeep, preparing to show the home in the 5700 block of Northwest 48th Court to another tenant.
Reese was charged with first degree murder, according to the sheriff's department.
Police have not said what motivated the killing, but neighbors say that Reese once lived at the home and was upset that he was forced out. They believe he mistakenly thought that Trost was the homeowner.
'There was a disgruntled tenant who was evicted. He thought that the realtor, who was showing the home, he thought it was the owner of the house, and she was ambushed. She was sitting in her car,' Donna Smith, who lives in the area, told WPLG Local 10.
The mother of a young daughter, Trost, who is originally from Southend, Essex, was outspoken about gun violence in America and had recently posted an anti-gun message on Facebook.
'Australia had one incident. One, They FIXED IT. UK had ONE incident. They FIXED it. How? With action. Using their brains. It was not difficult for either country to find a workable and successful solution,' Trost shared on Facebook.
'Here in the US we seem to start and stop at 'thoughts and prayers.' Doesn't seem to be working right,' she added.
The shooting shook the Florida real estate community.
Trost, who leaves behind her husband, Jason and daughter Avery, moved to the U.S. from England to dedicate her life to real estate, loved ones said.
The lively broker could be seen on video, touting her firm 1% List, which she promised would revolutionize the real estate business in South Florida.
'1 % List is going to do to real estate what Amazon has done to retail," she says on the video.
Sadly, her business, which was started over the summer, never got off the ground due to her premature death.
'To all of us who knew Sara, she was larger-than-life,' loved ones wrote on her memorial page. 'There was always a smile on her face and a good word to share. Sara was the most giving and caring person to both those she personally knew and those whose paths happened to cross hers.'
Trost was known to pay the grocery bill of the customer in front of her in the check-out line if she saw them struggling, according to the posting.
She was also volunteered at the local animal rescue center.
A fund for Trost was set up by Chabad of Parkland and Broward and Florida realtors to benefit the family.
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