Police responded to a 9-1-1 call to find a 40-year-old Coral Springs real estate agent in her car shot dead near a home she was showing. The agent was she was ambushed and gunned down in the driveway.

“Despite immediate medical treatment, the driver succumbed to her injuries on scene and was pronounced dead,” a police report says.

The woman, Sara Trost of Parkland, was in the driver’s seat of her car and suffering from multiple gunshot wounds when police arrived. The car was located in the area of 5700 NW 48th Ct. Trost owned and operated 1% Lists SoFlo herself, a discount real estate brokerage in Coral Springs.

“The house is a rental, and it looked to me, yesterday, that it was empty,” neighbor Donna Smith told WSVN. “I did not know this but apparently there was an eviction, and there’s a story behind all this, but we just don’t know right now. I’m devastated. It’s just so shocking and very upsetting especially this time of year.” 

Donna Smith also had been reported as saying “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,” said Donna Smith, who lives in the area.”

Coral Springs Police detectives conducted an investigation and have arrested one Raymond W. Reese in connection with the shooting. Police have charged Reese, 51, of Boca Raton with first-degree murder. He was booked into the Main Detention Center in West Palm Beach on Thursday evening, according to arrest records. Reese is being held without bond.

Coral Springs Police detectives conducted an investigation and have arrested one Raymond W. Reese in connection with the shooting. Police have charged Reese, 51, of Boca Raton with first-degree murder. He was booked into the Main Detention Center in West Palm Beach on Thursday evening, according to arrest records. Reese is being held without bond.

“At this time there are no additional suspects being sought, nor is there a threat to the community,” a police report says.

She (Trost) was deeply involved in her synagogue, “Chabad of Parkland”, including accompanying members of her congregation on a trip to Israel and recently volunteering to host a Chanukah gathering at her home.

Trost also volunteered with Paw Patrol Animal Rescue & Sanctuary and fostered dogs regularly over the past few years.

Rachel Lucuara, of the Paw Patrol Animal Rescue & Sanctuary, is quoted as saying: “Our heart goes out to Sara Michelle, her daughter, her husband Jason, and her whole family, her fur children, as well as her human child,”

Trost is survived by her toddler and her husband, she will be greatly missed by her family and her community. PropertyOnion.com will be donating a percent of all profits this month to a charity for violence & domestic abuse against woman in Broward county; “Women in Distress of Broward County” in her name. Our members are encouraged to donate as well by clicking on the “Donate Now” button on their homepage.

For more information about keeping safe working as a real estate agent in Florida, please see our article “Real Estate Agent Safety for Woman” we featured last year during another tragic shooting.