Brooke Preston: The SleepWalking Murder Case

Brooke Preston, age 21, was fatally stabbed in their West Palm Beach, Florida, home in 2017 by Randy Herman Jr., her roommate and childhood friend. 

Everyone agrees on this point, even Herman, who contacted 911 and admitted to the murder shortly after it was carried out. It’s questionable whether or not he killed his companion while sleepwalking and under the influence of a nasty hangover, which was his improbable defense.

The Hulu documentary “Dead Asleep” further examines Herman’s defence. Keep reading to learn more about Brooke Preston’s life, her sleepwalking murder, where Herman is now, and more!

Brooke Preston: Who Was She?

Preston was born in the United States on September 1, 1995, to parents John Edward Preston and Nancy Slabicki in Sayre, Pennsylvania. Brooke Preston’s actual age was 21.

She also constantly celebrated her birthday on September 1. Brooke was killed on March 25, 2017, in Brooke’s apartment in West Palm Beach, Florida. Every year, her loved ones flooded her with wishes and blessings on her birthday.

Preston’s zodiac sign, Virgo, corresponded to her actual birth date.

Individuals with Virgo as their zodiac sign will typically be modest, self-destructive, productive, and viable. Still, on a deeper level, they are regularly normal, kind, and considerate, as befits their zodiac sign. 

It means that assumptions about her character depend on her zodiac sign. She was enrolled at the State College of Florida to pursue a business degree.

Sayre, Pennsylvania, was the hometown of Brooke Preston. Nancy Slabicki and John Edward Preston were her parents’ names. Jordan Preston and Jessica Kipp were her sisters’ names.

Brooke Preston Murder By Roommate Randy Herman

Herman’s tale goes as follows: According to the Miami New Times, Preston had only a few personal belongings left in the Florida home as she was moving out to move in with her partner in New York. 

She traveled to West Palm Beach to pick up those possessions and bid her pals farewell. Herman, who supposedly had drinking problems given his two DUI convictions, treated her visit as a last hurrah, consuming more than 30 beers daily. 

Herman’s inebriation annoyed Preston, so he spent the night with a different mutual buddy.

An extremely hungover Herman assisted Preston with one last item to pack the following morning: a shirt honouring a buddy of theirs who had passed away in a drunk driving accident. 

Herman claimed to have seen Preston depart his room as he dozed off after they exchanged goodbye hugs. He asserted that he was holding a knife over Preston’s lifeless body when he awoke the following morning.

Brooke Preston Murderer Came With Defence Of SleepWalking

When police got to Haverhill Park in Palm Beach, Florida, where the 911 call originated, they discovered Herman standing close to a pavilion. 

First responders discovered Herman, covered in blood, with a wound on his left hand between his thumb and index finger.

When police arrived at the park to pick up Herman, they returned to the home he and Preston shared, where they found a gory crime scene and the purported murder weapon, subsequently identified as a “hunting-style knife.”

The Daily Beast claims that a police report later claimed Herman cut himself on the knife after slipping and suffering a hand injury. Investigators found Preston’s body covered in a blanket and noted what seemed to be defensive wounds on her hand.

When the matter went to trial, Herman’s defense claimed that although he had committed the murder, he had been sleepwalking. Although they are rare, sleepwalkers have been known to commit murder. 

According to The Palm Beach Post, specific conditions must be met for a murder to be blamed on sleepwalking. 

These characteristics can include a sleepwalking attacker in the past, no obvious purpose, and a victim whom the attacker dearly loved. Most of these conditions are met in Herman’s instance.

Defence of SleepWalking Rejected

The sleepwalking theory was reportedly first put forth by Herman’s mother, who reportedly told detectives that her son had significant sleepwalking episodes, including one time when he rode his bike to her workplace in his sleep, according to the Miami New Times, even though Herman was clear that he did not remember what had happened.

A 12-person jury rejected Herman’s sleepwalking theory on the death in 2019 (according to the Palm Beach Post). Herman had curled up naked in Preston’s closet the night before, and a friend of his told. 

The Daily Beast that he thought Herman was “crushing” on Preston. Prosecutors, searching for an explanation for Preston’s death, painted the killing as being motivated by unrequited feelings. 

Prosecutors also thought the sleepwalking theory was unlikely. Reid Scott, an assistant state attorney, said in his closing remarks, “This is skin, this is bone, this is muscle (he’s stabbing).” “You won’t just sleepwalk through that,” she said.

Herman, though, continues to insist that he has no recollection of Preston’s passing. He attempted to make sense of the conflicted emotions he is now processing while serving a life sentence in a letter to the Miami New Times.

The man wrote, “Excessive stress, sadness, trauma, and alcohol were the main causes of my mental collapse.  I sincerely apologise. I have conflicting feelings about getting a life sentence and another chance because I didn’t do this on purpose.”

Sentencing of Randy Herman 

After almost five hours of deliberation, a 12-member jury found Randy Herman Jr. guilty of first-degree murder and handed down a mandatory life term. 

He claimed he was sleepwalking when he attacked Brooke Preston, but that excuse was disproved.

The families of Randy and Brooke sobbed in silence on opposite sides of the courtroom as the verdict was announced. 

In 2019, a jury found Randy guilty of Brooke’s murder in the first degree and sentenced him to life in prison. The judge rejected his defence of sleepwalking.

 To give you a little background on Randy’s family, his older sister and a single mother brought him up.

When Randy was young, his parents were divorced. In terms of Randy’s father, he was a drunk and the main person of interest in the killing of his girlfriend. Later, it was said that he fled to Alabama before killing himself.

Hulu Documentary About Brooke Preston’s Murder

Dead Sleep is the name of the Randy Herman Jr. documentary on Hulu. December 16, 2021, is the scheduled date for the debut.

Skye Borgman (director), Sandrine Magloire-Szlasa (producer), Skye Borgman, Marisa Clifford, Nelesh Dhand, Poppy Dixon, Sunshine Jackson, Jack Oliver, and Darren Valdez (film editors) are among the cast and crew of the movie.

Where is Randy Herman Today?

Randy Herman Jr. is serving a life sentence in Florida. The precise building where he resided was kept a mystery, though.

Since his conviction for first-degree murder in May 2019, he has been imprisoned.

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