{"id":111940,"date":"2026-01-09T16:10:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T16:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/111940\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T16:10:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T16:10:15","slug":"florida-man-accused-of-killing-woman-dumping-body-on-popular-tourist-destination-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/111940\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida man accused of killing woman, dumping body on popular tourist destination: report"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Florida man<\/a> is behind bars after allegedly killing a woman and leaving her body on a popular beach the day after Christmas.<\/p>\n

Brandon Ward McCray, 28, was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals and Hollywood Police Department on Dec. 30, 2025 and charged with sexual battery<\/a>, kidnapping, battery and battery by strangulation, according to police records obtained by Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n

Authorities responded to a call regarding a body on the sand of Hollywood Beach \u2013 located approximately 15 miles from Fort Lauderdale Beach \u2013 at around 7 a.m. on the morning of Dec. 26, 2025, according to<\/a> WPLG. \u00a0The victim, later identified as 56-year-old Heather Asendorf, was pronounced dead at the scene.<\/p>\n

HOMELESS DRIFTER ACCUSED OF KILLING BARNES & NOBLE CHRISTMAS SHOPPER BLAMED \u2018FIGHT OR FLIGHT\u2019 OUTBURST: REPORT<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Brandon<\/p>\n

Brandon Ward McCray is charged with sexual battery, kidnapping, battery and battery by strangulation in Broward County, Florida, according to police records obtained by Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n

Witnesses later told NBC Miami<\/a> the body was wrapped in a white blanket and had blood trailing from the remains.<\/p>\n

Officials did not release details regarding Asendorf\u2019s cause of death, but previously stated that foul play was suspected<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read On The Fox News App<\/a><\/p>\n

Additionally, detectives believe McCray and Asendorf knew each other prior to the alleged murder, according to<\/a> WSVN.<\/p>\n

Man With Violent Criminal History On Parole Allegedly Stabs Teen To Death: Officials<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Hollywood<\/p>\n

Authorities reportedly allege Brandon Ward McCray murdered 56-year-old Heather Asendorf after her body was found on Hollywood Beach in Hollywood, Florida on Dec. 26, 2025.<\/p>\n

“This case remains an active criminal investigation,” Hollywood police<\/a> said in a news release. “There is no indication of a broader threat to the community.”<\/p>\n

McCray was previously charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in 2023 after allegedly brandishing a gun at a tow truck driver as his vehicle was being repossessed, according to NBC Miami.<\/p>\n

Man With Violent Criminal History On Parole Allegedly Stabs Teen To Death: Officials\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Hollywood<\/p>\n

Officials reportedly did not release details regarding Heather Asendorf\u2019s cause of death, but previously stated that foul play was suspected.<\/p>\n

He was taken into custody at his nearby home and booked into the Broward County Main Jail on $770,000 bond, WPLG reported.<\/p>\n

Click Here To Download The Fox News App<\/a><\/p>\n

The Hollywood Police Department and McCray\u2019s attorney did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n

Original article source: Florida man accused of killing woman, dumping body on popular tourist destination: report<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Florida man is behind bars after allegedly killing a woman and leaving her body on a popular…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":111941,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[56948,506,28,249,29142,251,250,23752,56949,686,12753,30004,56950,11381,38095],"class_list":["post-111940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-brandon-ward-mccray","tag-broward-county","tag-florida","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-beach","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news","tag-fox-news","tag-heather-asendorf","tag-hollywood","tag-hollywood-beach","tag-hollywood-police-department","tag-police-records","tag-sexual-battery","tag-wplg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111940"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111940\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}