A 34-year-old man is being held without bond on a first-degree murder charge after police say Daneshia Heller, a 30-year-old mother of three, was found dead and unclothed near a dumpster outside a Fort Lauderdale apartment complex on Feb. 18.
Investigators say Altavious Powell, of Miami Gardens, killed Heller inside a vacant apartment and left her body outside, then covered it with cardboard. Police say DNA evidence tied Powell to the scene, and detectives are now working to pin down a motive and the final hours of Heller’s life. The case has also pushed police to address online rumors that a serial killer was operating in the city, claims detectives said were false as they announced Powell’s arrest and urged the public not to spread unverified information.
Officers were sent to the area shortly before 7:30 a.m. Feb. 18 after a call reporting a body near a dumpster in the 200 block of Northwest 15th Avenue, police said. The dumpster sits beside low-rise apartment buildings and near North Fork Elementary School, separated by a fence. Residents who woke to flashing lights saw officers and detectives around the dumpster enclosure as the area was blocked off. Police pronounced the woman dead at the scene and later identified her as Heller, according to investigators and local reporting. Relatives said Heller’s body was found naked and covered with pieces of cardboard, details that spread quickly through the neighborhood and on social media.
Police have said Heller was shot and that the killing happened inside a vacant apartment, not at the dumpster where her body was discovered. Homicide Sgt. Don Geiger said detectives found Powell’s DNA at the crime scene, a key piece of evidence investigators said helped establish probable cause for a murder charge. Authorities have not publicly described the condition of the vacant unit, whether investigators believe the shooting happened during an argument or another encounter, or how Heller came to be inside the apartment. Police also have not said whether they recovered a firearm or other weapon, and they have not disclosed whether surveillance video captured any part of the events leading up to the discovery.
Powell was arrested within about a day of the discovery, according to police accounts carried in local media. Investigators said detectives found Powell during the investigation and first arrested him on charges not connected to Heller’s death, then identified him as the homicide suspect and booked him on a first-degree murder charge. Police have not publicly spelled out the unrelated arrest or what led detectives from that contact to the murder case, but investigators have said they continued reviewing evidence, including forensic findings and electronic records, after Powell was in custody. Police and family members have said it was unclear what relationship, if any, existed between Heller and Powell.
The case quickly became the center of wider fear in Broward County because of the circumstances of the discovery and the location near a school. Some residents described concerns about squatters and people coming and going behind the apartment buildings, and reporters at the scene described broken locks and damaged windows on nearby units. Police said the homicide investigation was active from the start, but detectives also had to contend with internet posts suggesting multiple bodies had been found or that a serial killer was responsible. At a news conference on Tuesday, Geiger said investigators called the rumors unfounded and said there was no evidence connecting Heller’s killing to other deaths.
“We do not have a serial killer that we’re looking at in the city of Fort Lauderdale,” Geiger said as he addressed the speculation. Police said false posts can create panic and can also point suspicion at people or vehicles that have nothing to do with a case. Detectives said they were focused on the evidence tied to Heller’s death and the prosecution of the person they identified as the suspect. Police have not announced any additional arrests connected to the homicide.
Heller’s relatives have described her as a loving, devoted parent and said she leaves behind three daughters. Family members said they were shaken not only by her death but by the way the details of the scene spread before they had clear answers. Her mother, Temekia Connor, called the loss devastating in interviews after the arrest. Her aunt, Latoya Snell, said the family has struggled to sleep as they wait for justice and try to help Heller’s children through the days after her death. Her father, David Heller, said his daughter mattered and was loved, and he described the condition in which she was found as disrespectful and cruel.
The investigation has included forensic work at the apartment complex and a review of digital information, police said. Geiger said detectives were pulling cell phone data and messages as they worked to confirm a timeline. Court documents described in local reports also pointed to tips and interviews that investigators said helped move the case forward, including an account that an anonymous tipster told detectives Powell had confessed. Police have not publicly detailed what Powell is accused of saying, when that conversation allegedly happened, or whether investigators have recorded statements that prosecutors plan to introduce in court.
The location where Heller was found is in a dense neighborhood of small apartment buildings and homes near Broward Boulevard and not far from the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. Residents told local outlets the area can be busy in the mornings as children head to school and neighbors leave for work. Several people questioned how long the body had been outside and who might have seen something before police arrived. Authorities have not publicly stated how long they believe Heller’s body was near the dumpster before it was found, and they have not released a public timeline of the hours leading up to the 7:30 a.m. call.
Investigators have said the body was left outside and covered with cardboard, a detail that has become central to the family’s grief and to public reaction. Police have not said whether they believe the covering was meant to conceal the body, delay discovery, or was done for another reason. They also have not said whether they have identified witnesses who saw anyone moving the body. As in many homicide cases, detectives are expected to build their file around a mix of physical evidence, phone location data, video if it exists, and interviews that can be tested against time-stamped records.
Legal proceedings have begun, with Powell charged with first-degree murder and held without bond. Police have publicly described the allegation as premeditated murder, though prosecutors typically lay out their full theory in court filings and hearings as a case progresses. Powell’s defense has already faced an early procedural issue: a public defender assigned to the case filed a motion to withdraw because of a conflict related to earlier representation of Heller, according to reports describing court filings. A hearing on that request was scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 25, which could lead to new counsel being appointed if the court grants the motion.
Police have said they expect the investigation to continue even with a suspect in custody, as detectives work to confirm motive, relationships, and the precise sequence of events. Investigators have not said whether they believe Heller was targeted, whether the killing followed a dispute, or whether other crimes are alleged to have occurred alongside the homicide. Authorities also have not released information about any past contact between Powell and law enforcement beyond what has been reported about his detention on an unrelated matter during the investigation. Police have asked anyone with direct information about the case to come forward, but they have emphasized that online speculation can damage an investigation.
For Heller’s family and neighbors, the focus has remained on the victim and on the circumstances that ended her life in a public, degrading way. Relatives have said they want the case handled carefully and want Heller remembered as a parent and a person, not as a headline. Police said they are continuing to gather records and complete forensic work so that the case presented in court matches what investigators can prove beyond a reasonable doubt. The department has also continued repeating its message that the city is not facing a serial killer threat tied to this homicide, calling the rumors untrue and insisting the evidence points to a single suspect in this case.
Powell remained in custody without bond as the case moved through early hearings, with investigators still working to fill in unanswered questions about motive and timeline and with the next public milestone set by the court’s handling of the defense conflict issue.
Author note: Last updated February 26, 2026.