Has amateur sleuthing gone too far on TikTok!? Possibly! Now one user has found himself at the center of allegedly false serial killer accusations!
A 34-year-old content creator named Sabrina Prater, AKA @sabrinaprater625, has been accused of being a kidnapper and serial killer! While the claims have reportedly been proved false, social media users aren’t convinced of his innocence.
Born Franklin Prater, the Michigan-based man, who admittedly is “working on coming out” (though is not transgender and still uses he/him pronouns), often posts videos of himself dancing in women’s clothing. But what was intended to be lighthearted content to garner donations for bills and to gain self-confidence has landed him in hot water, with many speculating about his personal life!
Related: TikTok Star Stacey Pentland Dead At 37 After Cancer Battle
Prater’s most popular video shows him dancing in high heels in a very run-down kitchen. Several TikTokers have re-shared the video to joke about his odd performances and about him living in a “trap house.” But the rumors have continued to get more serious over the last week, with many fearing that he may not only be a drug user but could be a serial killer or kidnapper!
A computer monitor and TV screen in the star’s living room supposedly appeared to show several people sitting in a decrepit room during one of the user’s recent posts (though that specific clip has since been set to private).
Viewers’ imaginations ran wild, with the most popular theory being those individuals had been kidnapped and were being held captive by the dancer. They suspected music playing in the background of the video was used to drown out the victims’ screams, theories which have been shared on many other videos as well. See for yourself (below):
https://www.tiktok.com/@sabrinaprater625/video/7029256688431582511?lang=en&is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
https://www.tiktok.com/@sabrinaprater625/video/7024440657716595973?lang=en&is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
Posting jokes online is one thing. But these folks took these murder theories — despite zero real evidence — way too seriously. Some reportedly even reported the strange content to the police!
Seriously? For having a messy home and dancing in it? Or is it just transphobia that automatically has ignorant folks equating a man in women’s clothing with serial murder??
Since none of these “detectives” seemed to want to do any real digging, just wildly speculate, another user went to the trouble of tracking down Frank Prater on Facebook and debunking a lot of what people were saying online. For instance, the images on the computer of “victims” were apparently just a screensaver showing a slideshow of his personal pics with his family. Sigh. See more (below):
@jennalynn468 #greenscreen #DealGuesser #sabrinaprater625 #missing #a #crime #crimetok #thanks #help #helpme #solvecrime ♬ original sound – Jenna Lynn
One user who claimed to know Sabrina IRL posted in response:
“went to school with him worked with him, and still talk to him. everyone is blowing this out of proportion He’s aware of everyone’s ‘theories'”
That was confirmed on Friday — when Sabrina posted another now-private video discussing the situation while crying, saying:
“I didn’t do nothing wrong. I’m sick of being hurt by this. I’m just like anybody else. I just want to be loved and accepted, man, and I’m not.”
Unfortunately, that clip has only caused more concern among the amateur sleuth community. Because the TikToker was inactive for nearly a week, some conspiracy theorists decided he was using that time to cover up his crimes, whether by murdering the abducted “victims” or gagging, transporting, or otherwise hiding them. On the other hand, others think Prater himself might have been kidnapped and tortured by a gang or drug dealers.
Related: Missing 16-Year-Old Girl RESCUED After Using ‘Distress’ Hand Signals She Learned On TikTok!
It’s hard to tell exactly how the online true crime community spiraled to all these conclusions. Perhaps it’s the lack of new Brian Laundrie news that left them inventing drama anywhere they could. But we hope they consider in the future these are real people they’re talking about before they make these kinds of serious claims with no evidence.
A quick look at Sabrina’s TikTok feed now shows little sign of the controversy, except for a few users sharing love and support to the (possibly) misunderstood creator. See a few more of the most viewed and controversial videos (below):
https://www.tiktok.com/@sabrinaprater625/video/7033904656116124975?lang=en&is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
https://www.tiktok.com/@sabrinaprater625/video/7029620949687389486?lang=en&is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
Here is Sabrina’s latest video, posted early Monday morning:
https://www.tiktok.com/@sabrinaprater625/video/7035987275808902447?lang=en&is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
Thoughts??
[Image via Sabrina Prater/TikTok]