What Happened to Aaron Fandel? The Seattle Resident’s Death Sparked a Social Media Debate

In October 2025, a Seattle, Wash. resident named Aaron Fandel was mourned by his beloved friends and family. Fandel died at the age of 27.

Following the news of the Seattle resident's death, many of his loved ones have expressed their feelings regarding his loss. Additionally, some residents have shared their thoughts on what happened to him. Here's what to know.

Fandel passed away on Oct. 7, 2025. According to his obituary, his death was "sudden," though his loved ones opted not to go into detail about what actually happened to him. However, another report shared on Facebook by account Leading Local News and More stated that Fandel's life was "tragically cut short following an accident."

"His sudden departure has left family, friends, and the wider community in shock, struggling to come to terms with the loss of someone so cherished," the message continued.

Underneath the post's comments, one Facebook users shared a possible new element to Fandel's story, suggesting he might have taken his own life.

"It wasn’t an accident… he took his own life," the user wrote.

The user's comment was met with several more comments from users who felt her insinuating about how Fandel died was inappropriate, with one user telling the original poster, "You’re heartless." Unfortunately, the commenter wasn't inaccurate, as a police report obtained by Distractify confirmed Fandel died of a gunshot wounds of the head and ruled his death a suicide.

Despite the public police report, Fandel's cause of death wasn't disclosed by his family. The family chose to focus on the life he led while he was alive. According to his obituary, he was a star student during his high school and, later, college years.

After graduating from Ballard High School in 2016, he attended Washington State University (WSU) in Pullman, Washington, from 2016 until 2020. He joined Sigma Pi fraternity during his freshman year and became extremely active in the fraternity system at WSU, culminating in his election as the President of WSU’s Interfraternity Council during his senior year. Aaron also spent a summer working as a Congressional Intern in Washington, D.C., for US Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

Fandel graduated from WSU in 2020 and quickly found a job as a marketing representative for Federated Insurance. While working his insurance job, he met his wife, Candace Fandel (née Goodsell). The couple dated for two years before eventually tying the knot in August 2024. Several days after the news of his death broke, Candace paid tribute to her husband in a touching Instagram post.

"You were the joy of my life," Candace wrote underneath an Instagram carousel of her and Aaron. "I don’t know how I’m going to be without you. I used to say I don’t know how I ever lived without you. You and I were in sync. We were meant to be. I’m so thankful I got to love you and be loved by you."

On Oct. 18, 2025, Fandel's loved ones gathered for his Celebration of Life. The program requested for attendees to dress in casual attire and for everyone to "celebrate the way he would want us to."

Fandel is survived by his wife, parents John and Mona Fandel of Seattle, Washington; and his brothers David Fandel and Andrew Fandel.