A former lawyer from Boca Raton, Florida, who was accused of killing his father at their shared law firm’s office, committed suicide in jail while awaiting his trial.
The discovery was made Wednesday, November 15, 2023, less than a month after Brandon Labiner was indicted on October 5, 2023 for the murder of his father, Paul Labiner, 68, also a lawyer.
Brandon Labiner, 34, was facing first-degree murder charges connected to the July incident and was scheduled for his next court appearance on November 28.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Labiner’s death was by apparent suicide, as he was found having hanged himself in the jail.
Brandon Labiner’s troubles started earlier this year following allegations of him stealing close to $450,000 from a family trust fund. The accusations led to a legal dispute between Brandon and his father, culminating in the Florida Supreme Court suspending Brandon’s law license in April, after his father filed a lawsuit and a bar complaint against him.
The legal battle between the father and son was intensifying, with Paul Labiner accusing Brandon of filing a bogus document to dismiss the lawsuit while posing as the plaintiffs in the case.
The murder, which occurred on July 1, 2023, was captured on surveillance footage outside the elder Labiner’s law office. The footage shows Brandon arriving at the parking garage on a bicycle, removing a box from a bag, and pulling out what appeared to be a gun. He then confronted his father, shooting him in the head, upper chest, and twice in the lower body. The elder Labiner was found lying in a pool of blood outside his law office.
At the time of his arrest, the son was already facing personal challenges, including the recent death of his unborn child and divorce. These personal tragedies were noted in the arrest affidavit, which cited the strained relationship with his father and the ongoing legal dispute as possible motives.
If convicted, Brandon Labiner would have faced life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or the death penalty for the murder charge. The charge of tampering and fabricating physical evidence, a third-degree felony, carried a penalty of up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
His public defender, Valentin Rodriguez, expressed sadness over his client’s passing, remarking on the unbelievable tragedies that have befallen the Labiner family.