A former boyfriend who was charged with attacking Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis died by suicide Thursday morning, police confirmed.
About 9:15 a.m., Daniel Curran, 35, was found outside one of the buildings in the Coral Ridge Towers development on Northeast 36th Street, a few blocks north of Oakland Park Boulevard and State Road A1A.
Fort Lauderdale Police officers were dispatched to a possible suicide in the area, according to Sgt. Patrick O’Brien, a spokesperson for the agency. First responders pronounced him dead at the scene.
Police and city officials confirmed the victim was Daniel Curran on Thursday afternoon.
“It is with profound sorrow that today we learned of the death of Danny Curran,” Trantalis said in a statement. “He was a loving individual, and my sympathies go out to his family. Perhaps now, the pain he endured will subside. May he rest in peace.”
Daniel Curran was arrested in November and facing charges of battery on a person over 65 and violating a court order of protection
Curran was facing criminal charges stemming from his arrest last November after police said he physically assaulted the 72-year-old mayor and dragged him across the road. He was charged with battery on a person 65 years or older, a felony, and violating an injunction for protection against domestic violence, to which he pleaded not guilty.
The two had been living together at the time, but had a tumultuous relationship, according to police and court records. The September before Curran’s arrest, Trantalis had received a restraining order against him, saying that Curran had thrown objects at him and sent life-threatening messages to him and the police chief, according to the petition for the restraining order. The two had begun living together again before Curran’s arrest in November.
After Curran’s arrest, a new stay-away order was granted in the criminal case. On Wednesday, the day before Curran’s death, a judge had granted a request to modify the no-contact order, allowing Curran and the mayor to have contact over the phone and in public, court records show.
Thursday was Curran’s 35th birthday.
If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, contact the 988 suicide and crisis hotline, or contact 211 Broward Crisis and Suicide Care Support at 211-broward.org.