Florida authorities are pushing back on social media rumors about a “serial killer on the loose” in Jacksonville after three women were found dead in separate incidents over three days.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) addressed the speculation directly on Tuesday, emphasizing that the cases are unrelated and urging calm as investigations continue.

“JSO is aware of rumors circulating about a serial killer on the loose in Jacksonville. We can confirm these claims are FALSE,” the agency wrote Tuesday on social media.

The department added that detectives are investigating each case individually, “following the facts and evidence,” adding “there is no danger to the public related to these incidents.”

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Despite that clarification, speculation continued to spread online, with many users drawing comparisons to crime thrillers or past serial killer cases.

“Isn’t this what the police say in every serial killer movie?” one Facebook user wrote.

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Others invoked infamous cases like Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy, arguing that police in those eras also downplayed initial warnings.

Worries spread over the weekend after three women were found dead in different parts of Jacksonville within three days.

On Saturday, 24-year-old Cherrish Nunley, a mother of two, was found fatally shot in a parking lot, according to News4Jax. A GoFundMe page created for her family described her as a devoted mother and “a bright, beautiful girl” who was “killed in cold blood.”

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The following day, a fisherman discovered the body of Tiffany Felton beneath a bridge on Blanding Boulevard, FirstCoastNews reported.

“This was an unnecessary killing,” AJ Jordan, outreach coordinator with MAD DADS, told the outlet. “Him or her left this lady under a bridge, under a bridge. It’s just, it’s just sad.” 

On Monday, deputies were called to a rooming house in the city’s Phoenix neighborhood, where another woman was found unresponsive, according to FirstCoastNews. A sheriff’s sergeant told the outlet that details surrounding her death were not immediately clear.

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Investigators say that, at this stage, the cases do not appear connected. Police have not confirmed whether any suspects have been identified or taken into custody.

While online speculation remains intense, authorities reiterated that there is no evidence linking the deaths or suggesting a broader threat.

“3 bodies in 3 days? Forgive me, but you can’t credibly say it’s not a serial killer if you haven’t solved it yet,” one skeptical user wrote.

Another commented, “Well… honestly there probably is one or two, but we just don’t know about it yet.”

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“Our detectives are investigating recent homicide cases that involve female victims, following the facts and evidence in each case. We will share updates as soon as we are able to, but we want to reassure the community there is no danger to the public related [to] these incidents,” the department said.

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.

West Virginia Attorney General John McCuskey weighed in on his state’s upcoming Supreme Court case against trans athlete Becky Pepper-Jackson after 130 congressional Democrats filed an amicus brief backing Pepper-Jackson. 

Pepper-Jackson filed the West Virginia v, B.P.J. case in July 2024, to challenge the state’s law, The Save Women’s Sports Act, to compete on a girls high school cross-country and track and field team. But the case will now be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in January. 

“The Save Women’s Sport Act is about making sports fair and safe for all involved. It is not about banning anyone from competition. Biological males can compete against biological males but not against biological females,” McCuskey said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital through the law firm Alliance Defending Freedom. 

“Women and girls have lost places on sports teams, surrendered spots on championship podiums and suffered injuries competing against bigger, faster and stronger males. This case is about preserving the hard-earned victories afforded in Title IX and, more than anything, protecting our female athletes.”

The lawsuit was brought against the state of West Virginia by trans athlete Becky Pepper-Jackson, who was initially granted a preliminary injunction allowing the athlete to participate on the school’s sports teams. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the law violated Title IX and the equal protection clause. Now, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the state’s appeal.

In a response brief, the athlete’s mother, Heather Jackson, argued West Virginia’s law that prohibits transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports violates Title IX.

However, Title IX does not explicitly protect the right of biologically male transgender people to identify as women. The Trump administration and West Virginia state government do not interpret Title IX as protective of that right.

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The 130 Democrats who have thrown their support behind Pepper-Jackson include nine Senators and 121 House members. 

The list of signees features prominent figures on the party’s left wing, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. The list also includes House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Nancy Pelosi. The list does not include noted moderate Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., or Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

“Categorical bans — such as the bans in West Virginia and Idaho — undermine those protections and the ability of transgender students to be part of their school community,” the brief says.

The amicus brief also expressed support for another trans athlete, Lindsay Hecox, whose case will also be heard by the Supreme Court in January. 

The Little v. Hecox lawsuit was initially filed by trans athlete Lindsay Hecox in 2020, when the athlete wanted to join the women’s cross-country team at Boise State and had the state’s law to prevent trans athletes from competing in women’s sports blocked.

Hecox was joined by an anonymous biological female student, Jane Doe, who was concerned about the potential of being subjected to the sex dispute verification process. The challenge was successful when a federal judge blocked Idaho’s state law.

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A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel upheld an injunction blocking the state law in 2023, before the Supreme Court agreed in July to hear the case. Hecox then asked the court last month to drop the challenge, claiming the athlete “has therefore decided to permanently withdraw and refrain from playing any women’s sports at BSU or in Idaho.”

Hecox tried to have the case dismissed in September after the Supreme Court agreed in July to hear the case, but U.S. District Judge David Nye, appointed by President Donald Trump in 2017, rejected Hecox’s motion to dismiss the case. 

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Florida executed a man Thursday who was convicted of raping and killing his former manager at a convenience store in 1988, marking the state’s record 17th execution this year.

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office told The Associated Press that 63-year-old Richard Barry Randolph was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. after receiving a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke.

A year later, in 1989, Randolph was convicted of murder, armed robbery, sexual battery and grand theft and sentenced to death.

A spokesperson for the governor said there were no complications during the procedure and that Randolph had no last words.

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Randolph woke at 6:30 a.m. and later ate a cheeseburger, fries and ice cream, according to a state Department of Corrections official. He had one visitor during the day but did not meet with a spiritual advisor.

Three members of the victim’s family were expected to attend the execution, which began around 6 p.m.

Randolph’s death extended Florida’s record for executions in a single year to 17.

The U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, and, until now, the highest annual total in Florida was eight in 2014.

Court records show Randolph tried to break into a safe at a Palatka convenience store in August 1988, according to the AP. Randolph, a former employee, was spotted by manager Minnie Ruth McCollum, and the two struggled.

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Randolph beat, strangled, stabbed and raped McCollum before fleeing the store in her car.

Three women saw Randolph leaving and called the sheriff’s office after noticing the store was in disarray.

A responding deputy found McCollum still alive and took her to a hospital, where she remained in a coma. She died six days later of severe brain injuries, doctors said.

Randolph was arrested soon after at a Jacksonville grocery store while trying to borrow money and cash in stolen lottery tickets. Investigators said he admitted to the attack and led them to bloody clothing he had discarded.

The Florida Supreme Court last week denied Randolph’s appeal to overturn his conviction. He argued the lower court abused its discretion by denying him access to public records and that his lawyers acted without his consent.

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Florida has carried out more executions than any other state this year, followed by Alabama, South Carolina and Texas with five each. Two more executions are planned next month under death warrants signed by Republican Gov. DeSantis.

Mark Allen Geralds, 58, is scheduled for Florida’s 18th execution Dec. 9. He was convicted of fatally stabbing a woman during a home invasion robbery.

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Frank Athen Walls, 58, will become Florida’s 19th executed prisoner on Dec. 18. He was convicted of fatally shooting a man and a woman during a home invasion robbery and later confessed to three other killings.

Florida’s lethal injections use a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.