MIAMI _ Following an apparent murder-suicide, police last week discovered the bodies of a 22-year-old woman with special needs and her father in a parking lot at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
Tribe spokesman Gary Bitner said the bodies of Rebecca Fogel and South Florida radiologist Dr. Andrew Fogel, 56, were found in a parking lot adjacent to a parking garage at about 1:20 p.m. March 26.
"Based on evidence collected as part of an ongoing investigation and pending toxicology test results, preliminary findings point to a murder-suicide," Bitner said in an email statement. Bitner would not say how the pair died.
During the investigation, Seminole Police found that a car owned by Dr. Fogel, who was affiliated with hospitals in in Key West and in Palm Beach and Hendry counties, entered "the complex minutes before the bodies were discovered."
The car was later found parked on the eighth floor of the garage.
Bitner said the two were residents of Palm Beach County, but the family was originally from Michigan, where Andrew Fogel attended the University of Michigan, according to an obituary published by the Palms West Funeral Home and Crematory. The obituary lists Rebecca as having "preceded" him in death. His service will be April 10 at Palms West.
A funeral service for Rebecca was held March 28 at Star of David Cemetery in North Lauderdale, according to a separate obituary published by Sinai Memorial Chapels.
For much of her life, up until a few years ago, Rebecca belonged to a special needs organization there, according to Rabbi Levi Shemtov, executive director of the Friendship Circle of Michigan.
"She was a special spirit," Shemtov said. "She just liked being around friends."
The Friendship Circle of Michigan, which was founded about 25 years ago, considered Fogel one of the organization's earliest and most beloved members.
"Rebecca is known to everyone who has been part of Friendship Circle since the very beginning," the organization wrote on Facebook on March 27, along with photos of her. "The entire Friendship Circle family mourns her loss. We extend our condolences to her mother, Cathy, and the entire family."
The organization said Rebecca's family has asked that donations be made to the Friendship Circle or another charity. A personalized fund for Rebecca has since raised a little over $1,300.
Shosh Newman, a volunteer who spent weekends with Rebecca at the Friendship Circle, wrote in a tribute on Facebook that Rebecca was "like a little sister to me over the years."
"In this life you meet people who will change your life forever and Rebecca was one of those people for me," Newman said. "She inspired me to become a Special Education teacher."
She added: "She was so much more than a kid I volunteered with, she became part of my family. In high school I spent every Saturday (I'd go for an hour visit and leave 7 or 9 hours later) and Sunday with her. And even though her family moved away she always held a special place in my heart. I'm so happy that I was able to see her a few years ago on a quick trip to Florida!"
Andrew Fogel began practicing medicine in Florida in 1989, according to the state health department. He held staff privileges at three hospitals in Florida: Lower Keys Medical Center in Key West, Lakeside Surgery Center in Belle Glade and Hendry Regional Medical Center, according to state records.
He was the registered manager of RSF Radiology LLC in Wellington, according to state corporation records.
In Andrew Fogel's obituary placed by Palms West, his loved ones ask that donations be made to American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and/or Florida Family Law Reform PAC, which lobbies for an end to "permanent alimony," according to its website.
