Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Doctor accused in murder, attempted suicide
An internal medicine doctor who, court records show, has a history of domestic violence in Broward County is now accused of killing his father before attempting to take his own life in Weston on Saturday morning.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office identified the doctor as Rafael Azulay, 43, and his dead father as Asher Azulay, 67, of Pembroke Pines.
A SWAT team was called to the Windmill Reserve community and Dr. Azulay’s home in the 3200 block of Islewood Avenue about 8:39 a.m., where the younger Azulay had barricaded himself inside.
When deputies went inside the home they found his father’s body. They also found the accused Azulay with self-inflicted gunshot wounds. He was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood.
According to Florida Department of Health records, Azulay began practicing medicine in 2000. Court records say he makes house calls to about 500 patients in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties and operates his medical practice from his home.
His condition or what led to the shooting was not immediately available as the shooting remains under investigation, a sheriff’s spokeswoman said.
Broward court records show Azulay had a pending criminal case and was accused of beating his fiancee on March 1, after a deputy stopped by his Weston home for a welfare check of the woman. Someone who was concerned about her safety reached out to authorities.
According to an arrest warrant, Azulay became enraged after the deputy left and punched his fiancee in the head, grabbed her by the throat and tried to strangle her before she was able to bite his hand and get away. She escaped through the garage and hid in the community guardhouse until her mother picked her up, it said.
The next day, the woman, who had bruising on her left eye and her limbs, went to authorities to file a restraining order and was escorted to Cleveland Clinic for an evaluation. Medical records showed she suffered a ruptured eardrum and fractures to her face, according to the arrest warrant.
At the time, the woman told investigators “the defendant owns a pistol and has threatened to bring her to her mother in a body bag.”
However, she had been hesitant to cooperate with authorities in the past, and charges against Azulay for two previous domestic violence incidents in 2014 and 2015 were dropped, the arrest warrant said.
Azulay in March was released from jail on a $75,000 bond. His attorney in that case, Robert Franklin, declined to comment when reached by phone Saturday.