Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony
D.A. Varela
dvarela@miamiherald.com
As rumors swirled on social media claiming a serial killer was afoot in Broward County, the Sheriff’s Office set the record straight with a post of its own: There is no serial killer.
For several weeks, residents have taken to Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Reddit, either claiming that there is a serial killer in Broward or asking why people keep saying there is a serial killer in Broward. On Friday, the Broward Sheriff’s Office confirmed the rumors are not true and asked residents to “help us prevent misinformation by checking official sources before sharing.”
“We are aware of social media posts circulating about an alleged serial killer in Broward County. Those reports are FALSE,” BSO posted. “We encourage residents to rely on official information from the Broward Sheriff’s Office and verified news sources.”
Though it’s unclear exactly where the rumor of a serial killer prowling the streets originally came from, the rumors appear to be connected to the death of Daneshia Heller, a 30-year-old woman who was found near a dumpster in Fort Lauderdale earlier this month. Fort Lauderdale Police arrested a suspect in the killing days later.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Fort Lauderdale Police also addressed the serial killer rumors.
“I know there’s some stuff circulating on social media, so we’re here to dispel any rumors or concerns,” Fort Lauderdale Police Homicide Sgt. Don Geiger told reporters. “I’ll start off by saying we do not have a serial killer that we’re looking at in the city of Fort Lauderdale.”
As the online rumor mill churned, some South Floridians became concerned. Others wondered why local media or law enforcement had not talked about an apparent serial killer.
“I guess down here in Broward in the Fort Lauderdale area, especially the hood areas, we have a serial killer?” one woman posted on TikTok days ago. “So if you’re one of those women who like to walk alone, make sure you have a weapon.”
Sometimes rumors get more attention online than confirmed facts. One video posted days ago about the supposed serial killer on TikTok has over 300,000 views. That same user later posted another video acknowledging police’s statement about the false rumors, which only has about 3,000 views.
A Reddit user on the r/fortlauderdale subreddit also posted about the rumors: “Seeing talk about 4 separate women found dead in ftl in the last week. I can only find one in the news – victim was found in a dumpster near Sistrunk. I can’t find anything else in the news but feeling worried. Is this true?”
Another user replied with some sage advice: “Idk anything about this particular incident but a good rule of thumb is if you ‘can’t find anything else in the news’ about a sensational story that local news channels would literally be salivating to report on, other than what you saw on the Tik Tok News Network, then it’s probably bull****.”
This story was originally published February 27, 2026 at 2:23 PM.