Longtime Mount Dora Orthodontist Dead in Apparent Seminole County Murder-Suicide Earlier this Month

LONGWOOD, Florida—A longtime Mount Dora orthodontist apparrently killed his ex-wife and then himself in Seminole County earlier this month, according to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO.)

Around 4 p.m. Jan. 11, SCSO responded to the 2400 block of Jennifer Hope Boulevard in Jennifer Estates in unincorporated Longwood on a report of a shooting, Public Information Officer Bob Kealing said in a press release.

When deputies arrived, they found Sandra Herman, 79, injured in the front yard; she was taken to a local hospital where she died from her injuries. Witnesses told SCSO Herman was shot by an elderly man, later identified as her ex-husband, Gilbert Principe, 81. The witnesses said Principe might still be in the home and once deputies obtained a search warrant, they entered the home and found Principe dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

According to official records maintained by the Lake County Clerk of Court, the couple divorced in October 1995. Principe had an orthodontic office in Mount Dora for many years.

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