Michael “Norah” Horwitz, a drag queen and trans-identified male, was accused of murdering his father, a prominent Virginia dentist, last week.
Law enforcement officers were called to a house on the 1300 block of Wren Place just before 9 a.m. on June 3, where they found Dr. Abbey Horwitz, 68, suffering from multiple stab wounds, according to the Virginia Police Department. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police arrested Horwitz’s son, who they said is in the process of transitioning his sex, and identified him in a press release as a 34-year-old female named Michael “Norah” Horwitz, according to the New York Post, which used “she/her” pronouns throughout its report. Other media reports have also deviated from biological reality by identifying Michael Horwitz as a female.
Horwitz has been charged with second-degree murder and stabbing in the commission of a felony, according to police.
“Police said Abbey Horwitz, a married father of three, was killed as a result of a domestic dispute, but they did not reveal a possible motive,” the report states.
Michael Horwitz made his first court appearance on Monday in a video conference from jail, where he told the judge he worked as a dishwasher. A public defender will represent him, according to the report.
The Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office said Horwitz has been placed under suicide watch.
Michael Horwitz was also allegedly a drag performer in Portland, Oregon, who performed under the name “Menorah Horwitz,” The Post Millennial (PM) reported. He additionally appears to have written several stories for the Portland Mercury about Pride month in June of 2017, according to the report.
“Horwitz also published a book titled ‘The Diary of Menorah Horwitz,’ which describes his combination of ‘Judaism and a love of drag in all the wrong ways when he becomes Menorah, Portland’s premiere Anne Frank impersonator,'” the report states, citing a synopsis of the book.
The book’s synopsis reads:
From the creator of Miss U.S. of Heya comes a true story about gender, Judaism, and gel nail polish. Michael Horwitz, a shy 29 year-old gay illustrator, combines Judaism and a love of drag in all the wrong ways when he becomes Menorah, Portland’s premiere Anne Frank impersonator.
Dressed in a puke colored school-girl’s uniform, stripper heels, and nails made from burning candles taped to his fingers, Michael explores Portland’s queer and punk party scene, one bad lip synch at a time. He falls in with drug happy club kids, hot tempered local divas, and some of the world’s most famous drag queens (sometimes disastrously)―all while waking up at 6 am the next morning to bag groceries. But not everyone is happy with Michael’s new alter ego, specifically his very supportive family. Michael’s creative detour takes a detour of its own when he realizes that Menorah isn’t a persona but a suggestion of the person he’s always wanted to be. What began as an imitation of someone famous for speaking their truth becomes a transition into his―or rather her―authentic self.
The book’s “about” section lists it as an “autobiographical comedy about finding your authentic self in the artificial world of drag,” as well as a “first person account of gender transitioning” and an “exploration of traditional Jewish identity intersecting with new gender norms.”
“The book’s artwork shows Horwitz with candles taped to his fingers, surrounded by a number of objects including female hormones, a baby having its umbilical cord cut but the cord has been replaced with a hot dog, and a bottle labeled ‘Jew Wine,'” according to PM.
Horwitz also appears to have performed with drag queen “Sharon Needles,” who appeared in the fourth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, according to the report.
Reduxx, a pro-women news and opinion website, reported that an old “Horwitz Family Photo” on Dr. Horwitz’s dental practice website shows Michael Horwitz prior to his transgenderism.
According to The Post, Dr. Horwitz had operated his practice, The Art of Dentistry, for more than 42 years. A former patient told a local news station that Dr. Horwitz and his wife Brenda, whom he had been married to for 25 years, had retired a few months prior and had plans to travel.
Horwitz had also served as president of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and was described by a member as a “wonderful man,” according to the report. Michele Nielsen, who owns a nearby business and had been going to Dr. Horwitz since she was eight years old, said he was “instrumental in helping us start [the business].”
Dr. Horwitz’s website states that he grew up in the Bronx and graduated from Fordham University and the Medical College of Virginia School of Dentistry in Richmond. He also volunteered in Israel, Romania, and the former Soviet Union and had recently traveled to Nicaragua “as part of the organization Physicians for Peace to conduct training on good oral hygiene,” the report states.
A neighbor, who remained anonymous, told the Virginia-Pilot, that Dr. Horwitz often hosted cookouts for his family.
“What I will always remember is he was always having his whole family together, kind of like ‘The Waltons,’” the neighbor said. “He seemed like the consummate family guy.”