Man Whose Wife Asked Him for Divorce Murders Mother-In-Law, Then Kills Himself

A Florida man fatally shot his mother-in-law before killing himself after having ongoing family problems, PEOPLE confirms.

On Monday, Steven Kasimow shot and killed his mother-in-law outside a Miami-Dade county home, a Miami-Dade police spokesperson tell PEOPLE.

Police say that before the shooting, Kasimow and the victim had an argument inside the home.

While police have not released the victim’s name, the Miami Herald, NBC News and WPLG have identified her as 70-year-old Linda Marx, a well-known real estate agent.

Following an argument inside the home, Kasimow went outside. When Marx followed him, Kasimow shot her, police tell PEOPLE. He then fled the scene in his car.

Kasimow and his mother-in-law had been having ongoing issues, police say. According to sources who knew him, he was upset before the incident because his wife, Marx’s daughter, had asked him for a divorce, NBC, WPLG and the Herald report.

However, no divorce papers had been filed at the time of the incident, the Herald reports.

After discovering the victim’s body shortly after 5 p.m., police were able to make contact with Kasimow, which helped them ping his cell phone for his location about four miles away from his home, according to the police spokesperson.

Hours later, when authorities located Kasimow’s car in Hollywood, they had SWAT officers surround the vehicle only to discover the 52-year-old had killed himself. He died of an apparent self inflicted gunshot wound.

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The day before her death, Marx had celebrated her 70th birthday surrounded by family, the Herald reports. She retired from real estate in 2007, and was described by her family in an online obituary as a “loving wife” to her late husband, Paul.

“[Linda was] the most loving caring, genuine, classy woman that could never do enough for all,” Elisa Cohen, a friend, commented on the obituary. “She never changed, always the beautiful Linda as back when I first was lucky enough to become friends with her.”