Brooklyn Man Who Died After Beating by Muggers in Back Seat of Taxi Remembered as 'A Father Every Girl Could Dream of'

A man was fatally beaten in an apparent robbery on Tuesday, Jan. 21, in Brooklyn, N.Y., the New York Police Department confirmed with PEOPLE.

Michael Shelonchik, 53, was found dead in the back of a taxi in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn. At around 6 p.m., the NYPD received a call that in front of 532 Neptune Avenue, a male victim was attacked by two unidentified individuals who opened the backseat door and “began punching the victim.”

“The individuals forcibly removed the victim’s chain from his neck and fled on foot,” per the NYPD. After the attack, Shelonchik appeared to have “suffered a medical episode.” EMS transported him to Maimonides Medical Center, where he was pronounced deceased.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death.

An investigation into the assault is ongoing. The NYPD said the two suspects “are believed to be in their 20s with a dark complexion.”

“One was last seen wearing a black hooded coat, blue sweatpants, and white sneakers, and the other individual was wearing a black hooded coat, black pants, and black sneakers. Both males were wearing balaclavas,” per NYPD.

“I’m a widow . Guys . No im sorry just please pray for me . I’ve been married since 1994,” Shelonchik’s wife, Jennifer, posted to Facebook on Wednesday, Jan. 22.

His daughter Taylor, 27, told the New York Post that her father was born and raised in N.Y.C.

“He knew the streets like the back of his hands. Never in life could we imagine something like this could happen to him,” she said, describing her dad as “a father every girl could dream of.” 

“It sounds cliché, but it is true,” Taylor added. “I feel like you only hear stories about these types of people because just the good die young. He was everything to us. He did everything for us. He was a sole provider, the sole emotional rock, the sole everything.”

“I am going to miss him more than… this is indescribable,” she continued. “I was just saying to my grandma. I don’t know how to live without him. He’s my life. He taught me everything I know.”

“I speak the way I speak because of him. I walk the way I walk because of him. I talk the way I talk because of him ,” Taylor told the Post. “It’s like somebody took my crutches from beneath me and I’m just left with broken legs and I have to learn how to walk.”

Her sister, Lexi, 20, said she is “speechless” by the news of her father’s death. 

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Anyone with information regarding this incident can call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA), submit tips online at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (formerly Twitter) @NYPDTips.

The N.Y.C. Office of Chief Medical Examiner did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for more information on Wednesday.