PLANTATION, Fla. – Plantation police continued their investigation Friday into the death of a doctor pulled from a house fire the day prior.
Multiple police units moved in quickly on Friday night, as detectives appeared to be searching for something or someone inside the home.
The fire was reported at about 3:45 a.m. Thursday at Dr. Karen Ruthman’s home at 12350 NW 23rd Court in the Plantation Acres neighborhood, officials said.
Ruthman, who lived at the home with her husband and fellow physician, obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Barrington Murray, was found and rushed to the hospital after neighbors spotted smoke. She later died from her injuries.
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Murray was not home at the time. One neighbor told Local 10 News that his patients “love him.”
Neighbors also expressed sorrow and concern over the death of his wife, who ran a family practice clinic in Weston.
They placed a small bouquet of flowers in front of the home with a message for Ruthman: “We love you.”
“One thing I just want to speak about is I want to make sure the investigation continues and they don’t write it off as an accident, because it was just too sudden,” neighbor Aimee Laclaustra said.
A man who asked only to be identified by his first name said he once lived in the Plantation Acres home with Dr. Ruthman.
“I just can’t believe it, I just had to come and see for myself,” said Patrick, who lived there with Dr. Ruthman, her husband Dr. Barrington Murray and their son.
Patrick, along with other family friends, gathered at the home hoping for answers.
“I’m heartbroken, I’m hurt, I’m in shock,” he said. “Right now there is a is a lot going through my head.”
It’s believed the fire started downstairs and spread upstairs.
Police said they are questioning several people in this case. Authorities are not speculating on any theories publicly, only calling the case a “death investigation.”