ORLANDO, Fla. – Nearly a month after Patrick Herman was found dead inside his downtown Orlando home near Lake Eola, police say the homicide investigation is still active.
Friends said Herman lived in a home on East Jefferson Street.
Members of his running club went to check on him Sept. 7 after noticing that packages had begun accumulating outside his door.
They told News 6 that the television was on, the door was unlocked and Herman was found dead inside.
“The world lost a really smart, peaceful, loving human being,” said Michael Hollmen, a longtime friend.
News 6 first reported on the case three weeks ago, after neighbors saw crime scene investigator trucks parked outside the home for several days.
Friends said Herman, 69, worked as an architect and sang with the Orlando Gay Chorus.
Ashley Scammell, a former coworker, remembered Herman as someone who consistently showed up for the people in his life.
She recalled an experience that, she said, captured his character. After noticing her looking at an ancestry DNA website at work, Herman spent several days researching and building her entire family tree from scratch.
“He found my biological father, didn’t ask anything in return, and I can never repay him for that now,” Scammell said.
Orlando police have provided few details about the case.
News 6 reviewed multiple police reports filed over a five-day period, but the narrative portions had been redacted.
The medical examiner’s office told News 6 that Herman’s cause of death was blunt force injury of the neck.
Hollmen said the limited information has been especially difficult for Herman’s friends and loved ones.
“It’s very troubling almost a month later to be very honest with you that we’re hearing so much and having to derive rather than know,” he said.
When News 6 again asked Orlando police Wednesday for more information, the department said the investigation remains active and that it had nothing further to add.
Several questions remain unanswered:
– Whether police are searching for a suspect
– Whether investigators believe there is a threat to public safety
– Whether any arrests have been made
Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.