Michael Rowland, 50, was arrested on Monday in Jacksonville, Florida, for the second-degree murder of his 72-year-old girlfriend, Diane German. Police say he strangled her at her Ocala home on December 27, 2025, before placing her body in the pool and calling 911 the next morning. The arrest followed months of investigation revealing inconsistencies in his account.
Ocala Police Department officers took Rowland into custody on charges of second-degree murder and tampering with evidence. He faces extradition to Marion County. According to an arrest report obtained by WCJB, Rowland reported finding German floating unresponsive in her backyard pool at her Ocala home on the morning of December 28, 2025. She was pronounced dead at the scene, and water found throughout the home initially aligned with his claim of pulling her from the pool to perform CPR. The medical examiner later ruled her death a homicide, citing evidence of strangulation prior to submersion. Surveillance footage showed Rowland arriving at German's house around 9:30 p.m. the previous evening, when activity on her phone abruptly ceased and she stopped replying to messages. Police discovered German's phone in Rowland's van with no water damage, despite his assertion it had been submerged. An empty wet phone case was found in her garage. A search of Rowland's phone uncovered queries on resetting video surveillance systems. Friends and family reported the couple had been arguing and were breaking up, though Rowland denied this. German, a longtime restaurateur who owned Wolfy's Restaurant, left behind two adult children and a grandchild.