Gary Levin was a 74-year-old Lyft driver from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, who went missing on January 30, 2023, and was later found dead in Okeechobee County. He was allegedly killed by Matthew Scott Flores, a 35-year-old suspect in another murder case in Central Florida. Levin’s family and friends described him as a kind, outgoing and fun-loving person who enjoyed music, dancing and meeting new people.
Early life and education
Gary was born on September 23, 1948, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He grew up in a Jewish family with his parents Samuel and Helen Levin and his sister Barbara. He attended Northeast High School and graduated in 1966. Gary Levin then enrolled at Temple University and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1970.
Quick Biography
Gary Levin Career and personal life
After college, Levin worked as a sales representative for various companies, including Xerox and IBM. He married Gloria Levin in 1972 and they had two children together: Lindsay and Jason. They also had four grandchildren: Tyler, Ryan, Dylan and Emma. Levin and his wife moved to South Florida in 2019 after he partially retired from his sales career. He decided to work as a Lyft driver in his spare time to keep himself busy and to interact with different people.
Gary Levin loved music, especially the songs of Smokey Robinson. He also enjoyed dancing, traveling, playing golf and watching sports. He was a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles and the Miami Dolphins. He was active in his community and participated in various charitable events. He was a member of the Temple Beth Am synagogue in Jupiter.
Disappearance and death
According to wikicelebs.com, on January 30, 2023, Levin left his home in Palm Beach Gardens around noon to work as a Lyft driver. He picked up a passenger in Delray Beach shortly before 1:30 p.m. and dropped him off in Okeechobee around 4:30 p.m. That was the last time he logged on to the Lyft app and his cell phone was active. He was supposed to meet his girlfriend Kathi Ginsberg for dinner that evening but he never showed up.
His family reported him missing on January 31 and the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department opened a missing person investigation. On February 1, Gary Levin’s license plate on his red 2022 Kia Stinger was detected by camera readers in Miami, Okeechobee, Sumter County and Gainesville. On February 2, North Carolina state troopers found Levin’s car being driven by Matthew Scott Flores in McDowell County. Flores led them on a high-speed chase across two counties before crashing the car and running away. He was arrested shortly after and taken to a hospital for a suspected drug overdose.
Flores was wanted for the murder of Jose Carlos Martinez in Wauchula, Florida, on January 24. He had also stolen several vehicles along the way from Central to Southeast Florida before getting into Levin’s car. According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), Flores devised a plan to leave Florida and return to his home in North Carolina. He asked an acquaintance to call the Lyft service for him and Levin was the one who responded to that call.
On February 4, FDLE and the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office announced that they had discovered human remains in a wooded area of northern Okeechobee County near where Levin was last seen. They did not reveal the identity of the remains due to Marsy’s Law, which allows crime victims or their families to have their names withheld from public reports. However, Levin’s daughter Lindsay DiBetta confirmed his death on her Facebook page on February 8.
On September 13, an Okeechobee County grand jury indicted Flores on a capital murder charge for killing Levin during a robbery attempt. Flores also faces charges of robbery with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He is still in custody in North Carolina for DWI, fleeing and eluding and possession of a stolen vehicle. He also faces extradition to Florida for the Hardee County homicide.
Trivia
- Levin celebrated his 74th birthday on September 23, 2022.
- He attended a Smokey Robinson concert with his girlfriend Kathi Ginsberg as a belated birthday gift in December 2022.
- Gary served as a translator for the US military in Afghanistan for nine years before fleeing the country as American forces began pulling out.
- Levin relocated his family to Sacramento in 2018 and is survived by his wife and three children.
- He drove for Uber as well as Lyft.
FAQs
Q: When did Gary Levin go missing?
A. Levin went missing on January 30, 2023.
Q: Who killed Gary Levin?
A: Gary was allegedly killed by Matthew Scott Flores, a suspect in another murder case in Central Florida.
Q: How did Gary Levin die?
A: Gary died from a gunshot wound during a robbery attempt by Matthew Scott Flores.
Q: Where was Gary Levin’s car found?
A: Levin’s car was found in North Carolina, where Matthew Scott Flores was driving it.
Q: How old was Gary Levin when he died?
A: He was 74 years old when he died.
