A Virginia dentist was allegedly stabbed to death by his son, who claims he is a woman.
Dr. Abbey Horwitz, 68, a married father of three children, was stabbed multiple times by his son, named by the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office as “Michael Aaron Horwitz,” which is also the name used in jail records. Horwitz, 34, who goes by “Norah” Horwitz, was charged with second-degree murder. He is being held in the Virginia Beach Jail.
News media: Inmate Michael Aaron Horwitz, 36, has declined to be interviewed. Charges are second degree murder and assault during the commission of a felony. @WAVY_News @WTKR3 @13NewsNow @virginianpilot @PungoPublishing pic.twitter.com/YbAxbIukb0
— VB Sheriff's Office (@VBSO) June 4, 2023
Police arrived at Abbey Horwitz’s home in Virginia Beach at around 9 a.m. on Saturday, only to find him stabbed multiple times. The dentist was pronounced dead roughly 20 minutes later.
“He was instrumental in helping us start here,” a client named Michele Nielson told WTKR of Horwitz, who graduated from Fordham University and the Medical College of Virginia School of Dentistry in Richmond and later volunteered his services in Israel, Romania, the former Soviet Union, and Nicaragua. “He jumped right on board and gave us advice, came to our grand opening, without having to ask him. Just that kind of generous spirit and you just don’t come across a lot anymore.”
A neighbor of the dentist, familiar with the family but not Michael, told The Virginian-Pilot, “What I will always remember is he was always having his whole family together, kind of like ‘The Waltons.’ … He seemed like the consummate family guy. … [The Horwitz family are] really nice, good people, just a very positive vibe. I still can’t believe it.”
Michael Horwitz appeared in court on Monday via a video call, and a judge appointed a public defender to represent him. He was reportedly put on suicide watch.
In September 2022, the Virginia Department of Education issued new policies stating that parents, not students, had to communicate with schools regarding matters about a student’s gender identity.
The policies defined a transgender student as “a public school student whose parent has requested, in writing, due to their child’s persistent and sincere belief that his or her gender differs with his or her sex, that their child be so identified while at school.”
The policies stated:
Parents are in the best position to work with their children and, where appropriate, their children’s health care providers to determine (a) what names, nicknames, and/or pronouns, if any, shall be used for their child by teachers and school staff while their child is at school, (b) whether their child engages in any counseling or social transition at school that encourages a gender that differs from their child’s sex, or (c) whether their child expresses a gender that differs with their child’s sex while at school.