Evicted Tenant Allegedly Killed Real Estate Agent After Mistaking Her For Homeowner

A Florida man is accused of shooting a real estate agent to death after mistaking her for the owner of a home from which he was recently evicted .

Raymond Wesley Reese, 50, was charged on Thursday with first-degree murder for the shooting death of Sara-Michelle Trost, 40, Coral Springs Police announced on Thursday.

Earlier that day, police responded to a report of a shooting in Coral Springs. When they arrived on the scene, “they discovered a vehicle with one female occupant in the driver’s seat suffering from multiple gunshot wounds,” they stated in a press release last week.

The victim, Trost, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Reese was identified and detained as a suspect shortly thereafter.

One neighbor has pointed to his recent eviction as a motive for the shooting, suggesting it was a case of mistaken identity, .

“There was a disgruntled tenant who was evicted,” Donna Smith told Local News 10. “He thought that the realtor, who was showing the home... he thought it was the owner of the house, and she was ambushed.”

Trost leaves behind a husband, a daughter and several pets. She owned and operated the real estate brokerage firm, 1% Lists SoFlo ,in Coral Springs. 

“Is it a crazy time for real estate? YES!,” she posted on her business’s Facebook page just hours before she was murdered. “But even so, just when you think it will ‘slow down for the holidays’… errrrm… NO!”

In addition to working as a real estate agent, Trost volunteered for the Paw Patrol Animal Rescue & Sanctuary. 

“Please continue to send prayers to the Trost family during these difficult times,” they wrote on Facebook one day before Christmas Eve. “The PPARAS family is still in shock & our hearts are completely broken.”

Reese is being held without bond, the Sun-Sentinel reports. It was not clear if he has a lawyer who could speak on his behalf