Man found dead in car behind a North Miami Beach fast food chain. Cops say it’s a homicide
.jpg "A reward of up to $5,000 is being offered for anonymous tips that lead to the arrest and conviction of the people involved in the killing of 39-year-old Hershey Schwartz in North Miami Beach on Feb. 19, 2023.")
A 39-year-old man may have been robbed prior to being found dead inside his car in the parking lot of a North Miami Beach fast food restaurant over the weekend, police said Wednesday.
North Miami Beach police released a three-paragraph statement Wednesday morning on Twitter identifying the man as Hershy Schwartz, and said he was found “unresponsive” in the rear parking lot of Wendy’s, 25 NE 167th St., at 8:30 a.m. Sunday. They called it a homicide, said they had “promising” leads and that he was likely killed during a robbery.
Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers also put out a flier about Schwartz’s death and offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. No one has publicly said how Schwartz was killed.
Chesed Shel Emes, a Jewish nonprofit that says it works with law enforcement and medical examiners “to provide respect and dignity for the deceased,” on Sunday announced in a tweet the death of Schwartz, one of their members. The organization noted he was set to marry in 10 days.
“Hershy was a unique and wonderful person always ready to lend a helping hand,” Chesed Shel Emes said. “All members are shocked and saddened and are working to give him the dignity he gave to so many others.”
Reached at his home in Monsey, New York, one of the nation’s largest hamlets of Hassidic and Orthodox Jews, Chaim Schwartz called his brother’s death a tragedy.
“We don’t know anything. It’s very sad,” he said.
Hershy Schwartz’s bride-to-be, Rosie Brutowsky, told WPLG Channel 10 she felt “empty without him.”
“My heart was completely ripped out... I love him and I can’t live without him,” she said.
Schwartz was a first responder for the William P. Faist Volunteer Ambulance, and the Brewer Fire Engine Company No. One, Inc., in New York, the television station reported.
Anyone with information about the homicide is encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers by dialing 305-471-8477 or visiting crimestoppers305.com. All tips are anonymous.
This story was originally published February 22, 2023 at 6:03 PM.
