Patrick Herman never showed up for his running club's Saturday morning meetup on Sept. 5, and friends knew something was wrong. By Sept. 7, they found him dead inside his home near Lake Eola in downtown Orlando — his car gone from the driveway, packages piling up at the door, and the door itself left unlocked.
The medical examiner's office has now determined that the 69-year-old architect died of blunt-force injury to the neck, according to WKMG ClickOrlando. His death is now the subject of an active homicide investigation, the station reports, though Orlando police have released little else. Officers told the outlet they had no additional details to share when asked this week, and have not disclosed whether investigators are searching for a suspect, whether anyone has been arrested, or whether they believe there is any ongoing threat to the public.
A Quiet Discovery Near Lake Eola
Herman lived on East Jefferson Street, and it was members of his running club, the Orlando Front Runners and Walkers, who went to check on him after he missed the group's Sept. 5 gathering, according to Watermark. The organization describes itself as an LGBTQ+ running and walking group that meets weekly for fitness and social connection, and friends said Herman typically texted the group if he couldn't make it — his silence that Saturday was out of character.
When friends arrived at his home, they reported the television was still on and the door was unlocked, while Herman's car was nowhere in sight and packages had stacked up unclaimed at his door. The same outlet reported that Detective David Robinson confirmed the investigation remains active and ongoing, though he said the information he could share publicly was limited.
Remembered as an Architect and a Friend
Herman worked as an architect at HuntonBrady Architects and sang with the Orlando Gay Chorus, according to the same account. Friend Michael Hollmen described him as a smart, peaceful and loving person, and said the lack of information from investigators has been difficult for those close to Herman.
Another friend, Ashley Scammell, said Herman consistently supported the people around him — he had built her entire family tree from scratch and helped her locate her biological father, per the Watermark report. A celebration of life for Herman is scheduled for Oct. 24 at 3 p.m. at First United Church of Christ.
A Rare Case in a City With Falling Homicide Numbers
Herman's death comes as Orlando has been posting historically low homicide figures. The city recorded just 10 homicides in 2025, the lowest total since the Orlando Police Department began tracking the data in 1971, according to the Orlando Sentinel. That figure marked a 58% drop from the 24 homicides recorded in 2024, and the Sentinel reported Orlando ranked No. 1 among 67 U.S. cities and counties for the size of its year-over-year homicide-rate decline.
Police attributed the broader trend to a 68% decrease in homicides between 2023 and 2025, though a University of Central Florida criminal-justice professor cautioned the drop may reflect a nationwide pattern rather than any single local program, the Sentinel noted. Members of the public can request records or review OPD's historical crime data through the City of Orlando's OPD Records and Open Data page. For now, investigators have not said how Herman's case fits into that larger picture, and his family and friends are left waiting for answers alongside the rest of the community.
