A timeline of Milwaukee college student's murder; some remains washed up on Illinois beach
Jurors on June 6 found Maxwell Anderson guilty of four charges in the death of 19-year-old Sade Robinson.
The verdict in Milwaukee County Circuit Court came more than a year after Milwaukee and the country discovered that the missing college student had been killed and her body dismembered and spread across the area.
Here's what to know about the case and what has happened the prior 14 months.
Robinson's final hours begin the afternoon of April 1, 2024, a day before she was reported missing in Milwaukee. The criminal justice student at Milwaukee Area Technical College told an employee who worked at her apartment building that she was excited for a date later that night.
According to prosecutors:
Robinson sent Anderson a text at 4:15 p.m. and the two arranged to go to a couple establishments in town at which Anderson previously worked. After dinner at Twisted Fisherman restaurant, 1200 W. Canal St., the two arrive in Robinson's car at Duke's on Water, 158 E. Juneau Ave.
At 6:30 p.m., while at Duke's, Robinson sends a SnapChat to a friend. Robinson and Anderson leave the bar shortly after 9 p.m.
Surveillance video shows two people arriving at Anderson's former home on the 3100 block of South 39th Street at 9:24 p.m. Robinson's phone is also located by GPS in the area of the home.
In the early morning hours of April 2, 2024, Robinson's phone is located leaving Anderson's home and traveling throughout Milwaukee County.
According to prosecutors:
First to Pleasant Valley Park, along the Milwaukee River in the city's Riverwest neighborhood and then to Warnimont Park in Cudahy, arriving at 2:45 a.m.
Surveillance cameras capture a car heading toward the pump house at Warnimont Park before also capturing a person descend the bluff to the beach level. The vehicle leaves the park at 4:31 a.m. and minutes later, Robinson's phone loses battery.
Later that morning, the 2020 Honda Civic belonging to Robinson is found on fire on the 1800 block of North 29th Street. A witness said he saw a male exit the vehicle and toss a lighter into it before walking away.
Video footage from a Milwaukee County Transit System bus shows Anderson, in the clothing description the witness provided (a gray hoodie and tan backpack), getting off the bus near his home. He arrives home at 8:43 a.m.
Shortly before 5:30 p.m. that evening, someone finds a human leg belonging to a Black woman (later confirmed to be Robinson's) at Warnimont Park. The leg was found about two-thirds of the way down a 100-foot bluff, toward the shoreline and near a pump house.
About 3½ hours later, a friend of Robinson reports her missing to Milwaukee police after she fails to return phone calls and show for her shift at Pizza Shuttle on Milwaukee's east side.
Law enforcement pull over Anderson the afternoon of April 4, 2024, in his car and arrest him just blocks from his home. A hoodie found in his car matches the hoodie of the suspect who torched Robinson's car, according to prosecutors.
Sometime that day, law enforcement officers execute a search warrant at Anderson's home. Officers find blood in one of the bedrooms and on the walls leading to the basement, prosecutors said. Several gasoline containers are also found.
Police find a human foot that appears to match the leg found in Cudahy in the area of North 31st and West Galena streets, near where Robinson's car was found. Other human flesh was also found in the area.
Authorities reportedly discover several more body parts the next day, including near 31st and Walnut streets. A person in a hoodie and backpack is captured on surveillance footage near 31st and Walnut.
One week after his arrest, Anderson was charged with first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse, and arson in the death of Robinson.
He has pleaded not guilty to all counts and remains in jail on $5 million bail.
The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office says it's conducting a "follow-up search" of Anderson's home, which became a place at which people left tributes for Robinson. The home has since been sold to new owners.
The sheriff's office says that a torso and an arm believed to belong to Robinson was discovered in a remote, tree-lined stretch of beach in South Milwaukee.
A memorial service was held for Anderson at the Baird Center in downtown Milwaukee.
Sade entering the world "gave my life purpose," said Carlos Robinson, Sade's father. "I watched her grow from a tiny little baby to a beautiful, intelligent young lady that would make any father proud."
The attendees, speakers and performers at the memorial displayed the gravity of Sade's reach on the Milwaukee community. Lifelong friends, classmates, professors, pastors, activists and her employers and coworkers were all in attendance. Mayor Cavalier Johnson had a brief conversation with Sheena Scarbrough, Sade's mother.
An arm believed to belong to Robinson washed up on the beach in Waukegan, Illinois, according to authorities.
Anderson's attorney, Anthony D. Cotton, sent a letter to Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Mark A. Sanders, asking that his client be furnished with a laptop that has discovery evidence in his case already saved on it.
Robinson's estate and her mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Anderson.
Robinson's family alleges Anderson's family later went to his home and threw away items inside the residence, then moved forward with selling it in an effort "to conceal and hide evidence."
Without providing evidence, the lawsuit alleges a finger was found outside the property shortly after Anderson's home was sold. But authorities say that was not the case. A sheriff's spokesman said the assertion about a finger discovered on the property wasn't true.
Judge Sanders rejected a request made by Anderson's attorney to grant Anderson access to a laptop. Cotton argued the device would have helped kept Anderson up to speed on developments in the case, and enabled him to aid in his own defense.
At a July 12, 2024, hearing at the Milwaukee County Courthouse, Anderson's attorney requests the trial be moved to a different county and unsealed search warrants reveal some of what was found during the searches of Anderson's home.
Detectives found a knife in the kitchen sink, an ax hanging on the living room wall and women's clothing hidden under a bench in the basement. A woman's ID card also was found during the search. A detective found a possible blood stain in Anderson's car, on a door speaker.
Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Laura Crivello will now be presiding over the case as part of a judicial rotation schedule change ordered by Chief Judge Carl Ashley that affected many of the court's judges.
A University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee grad, Crivello received her juris doctorate to practice law in 1993 from Marquette University Law School.
She worked as an assistant district attorney in Milwaukee County from 1993 to 2018, when she was appointed to the court by then-Gov. Scott Walker. Crivello retained her seat in an uncontested 2019 judge race. A judge's term is six years.
Milwaukee muralist Ruben Alcantar completes his mural of Robinson outside her former employer, Pizza Shuttle, a staple on the city's east side.
She was remembered as a remarkable and caring person by her coworkers. Winston Milhans, her coworker, said Sade was that burst of energy that coworkers often give each other to help motivate them. Milhans said Sade was a "person that is a perfect example of who you want to be like. Her traits were remarkable."
Robinson's mother, Sheena Scarbrough, joined lawmakers at the State Capitol to call for more state resources to be funneled toward understanding and tracking cases that end in the disappearance or death of Black women and girls like her daughter.
Robinson's murder renewed a push by Democratic female lawmakers to create a state task force for missing and murdered Black women and girls. For the fourth time in a row, that effort failed.
Assistant District Attorney Ian Vance-Curzan, the lead prosecutor, said he plans to enter roughly 500 exhibits and pieces of evidence as part of his case against Anderson at trial. He said he made no offers to Anderson, and that he expects the trial to run one to two weeks.
Vance-Curzan signals a need for a bigger jury pool due to the media coverage of the case.
Vance-Curzan said he intends to call in several scientific experts to testify, including a medical examiner, an anthropologist, a fingerprint analyst and a DNA expert. A person with expertise in collecting and crunching cellphone tower data also may be brought in.
Cotton, Anderson's attorney, requests access to Robinson's encrypted data on her phone.
Trial is delayed until May 2025 from Dec. 9, 2024.
A memorial planned by Milwaukee County for Robinson has been canceled after County Board supervisors reported a flurry of racist, abusive emails over the proposal.
The Robinson family files a lawsuit against the two bars that Anderson and Robinson went to about a year prior, arguing staff at each establishment didn't ask for her ID before she was served multiple alcoholic beverages, but sold them to her anyway.
Robinson was later seen "visibly intoxicated" and "rendered defenseless," the lawsuit contends, leaving her "physically and mentally vulnerable."
A pool of 50 to 70 jurors is expected to be called to serve. Typically, jury pools of 30 to 40 people are called to serve in most cases before they are whittled down to a final panel of 14 jurors who will hear testimony. Once testimony wraps up, 12 jurors are asked to deliberate; the others are dismissed.
Jury selection got underway at 9 a.m. The trial is expected to last up to two weeks.
Anderson, 34, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide, mutilation of a corpse, hiding a corpse and arson.
Opening statements began at 8:45 a.m. and the jury was dismissed for the day at 4:48 p.m. after hearing from several witnesses and reviewing evidence, like video footage from a park where Robinson's severed leg was found.
The state rested its case after seven days of testimony from more than 65 witnesses and the admission of more than 300 pieces of evidence.
After the defense rested its case without calling any witnesses, the jury began deliberations for about 10 minutes until Judge Laura Crivello sent it home for the day.
After another approximately 30 minutes of deliberation, the jury found Anderson guilty of all charges.
Anderson's sentencing hearing was scheduled for 10 a.m. Aug. 15.
Wisconsin doesn't have the death penalty, but Anderson faces a mandatory life sentence. There's a possibility he could serve part of the sentence in prison and later be eligible for extended supervision, but that will be decided by a judge.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Sade Robinson murder and dismemberment case: timeline of events
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
2 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Former DC police officer sentenced to 18 months for lying about leaking info to Proud Boys leader
WASHINGTON — A retired police officer was sentenced Friday to 18 months behind bars for lying to authorities about leaking confidential information to the Proud Boys extremist group's former top leader, who was under investigation for burning a Black Lives Matter banner in the nation's capital. Shane Lamond was a lieutenant for the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., when he fed information about its banner burning investigation to then-Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio. Last December, after a trial without a jury, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson convicted Lamond of one count of obstructing justice and three counts of making false statements. Tarrio attended Lamond's sentencing and later called for President Trump to pardon Lamond. 'I ask that the Justice Department and the president of the United States step in and correct the injustice that I just witnessed inside this courtroom,' Tarrio said outside the courthouse after the sentencing. Prosecutors had recommended a four-year prison sentence for Lamond. 'Because Lamond knew what he did was wrong, he lied to cover it up — not just to the Federal Agents who questioned his actions, but to this Court,' they wrote. 'This is an egregious obstruction of justice and a betrayal of the work of his colleagues at MPD.' Lamond's lawyers argued that a prison sentence wasn't warranted. 'Mr. Lamond gained nothing from his communications with Mr. Tarrio and only sought, albeit in a sloppy and ineffective way, to gain information and intelligence that would help stop the violent protesters coming to D.C. in late 2020, early 2021,' they wrote. Tarrio pleaded guilty to burning the banner stolen from a historic Black church in downtown Washington in December 2020. He was arrested two days before dozens of Proud Boys members stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Tarrio wasn't at the Capitol that day, but a jury convicted him of orchestrating a violent plot to keep Trump in the White House after he lost the 2020 election. Lamond testified at his bench trial that he never provided Tarrio with sensitive police information. Tarrio, who testified as a witness for Lamond's defense, said he did not confess to Lamond about burning the banner and did not receive any confidential information from him. But the judge said she did not find either man's testimony to be credible. Lamond retired in May 2023 after 23 years of service to the police department. Prior to that he had supervised the intelligence branch of the police department's Homeland Security Bureau. He was responsible for monitoring groups like the Proud Boys when they came to Washington. Prosecutors said Lamond tipped off Tarrio, whom he had met in 2019, that a warrant for his arrest had been signed. They pointed to messages that suggest Lamond provided Tarrio with real-time updates on the police investigation. Lamond's indictment said he and Tarrio exchanged messages about the Jan. 6 riot and discussed whether Proud Boys members were in danger of being charged in the attack. 'Of course I can't say it officially, but personally I support you all and don't want to see your group's name and reputation dragged through the mud,' Lamond wrote. Lamond said he was upset that a prosecutor labeled him as a Proud Boys 'sympathizer' who acted as a 'double agent' for the group after Tarrio burned a stolen Black Lives Matter banner in December 2020. 'I don't support the Proud Boys, and I'm not a Proud Boys sympathizer,' Lamond testified. Lamond said he considered Tarrio to be a source, not a friend. But he said he tried to build a friendly rapport with the group leader to gain his trust. Kunzelman writes for the Associated Press.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Opinion - Trump has rejected police reform. States and localities must take the lead.
Five years after a Minneapolis police officer brutally murdered a handcuffed George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for over nine minutes, prompting worldwide protests against wrongful police killings of Black people, the Trump administration has taken a giant step back from police reform. The Justice Department announced in May that it is abandoning agreements reached with police departments in Minneapolis and Louisville, Ky., mandating reforms designed to reduce killings, brutality and other police misconduct. The Justice Department is conducting a review to determine if it should drop similar agreements with about a dozen other police departments. On top of this, the Justice Department will end civil rights investigations of alleged criminal conduct by the Louisiana State Police and police departments in Memphis, Mount Vernon, N.Y., Oklahoma City, Phoenix and Trenton, N.J. Thankfully, Minneapolis officials announced that they will abide by their agreement, known as a consent decree, reached with the Justice Department in the closing days of the Biden presidency. But it is absurd to depend on police departments to police themselves. The federal government has a duty to protect people from police who engage in criminal conduct. The dangerous pullback by the Justice Department is likely to result in more wrongful deaths at the hands of police — particularly of Black people and members of other minority groups. A nationwide count by the Washington Post of deadly shootings by police from 2015 through 2024 found that Black people 'are killed by police at more than twice the rate' of white people in America. The number of non-Hispanic whites killed by police was 4,657, compared with 2,484 Black people. Because only 14 percent of the American population is Black, the number of people killed by police annually averaged 6.1 per million of the Black population, compared with 2.5 per million of the white population. There are, of course, times when police must use deadly force to prevent the killing of others. But this wasn't the case with Floyd and many others killed by police. Floyd, who was unarmed, was only suspected of using a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes. As a Black man like Floyd, I have experienced the unfair and harsh treatment some officers give to people who look like us. I've been stopped on the road and detained in front of my home by police several times when doing nothing wrong. I've been ordered out of my home and car to lay on the ground, had guns pointed at me, been handcuffed and been threatened with arrest. I don't think I would be treated this way were it not for the color of my skin. Most police officers never beat, shoot or kill anyone. They risk their lives to keep us safe and deserve our gratitude. But it is naive to believe that officers can do no wrong, that we live in a colorblind society or that there is no such thing as systemic racism. In the wake of the Trump administration's rejection of its duty to protect us all from police misconduct, the job of implementing needed reforms must go to state and local governments that oversee police agencies. Here are some actions they should take. Increase police funding to implement reforms: After Floyd's murder, some progressives adopted the slogan 'defund the police.' That was a mistake. Police departments need more federal, state and local government funding to better train and pay officers and to put more officers on the street to do police work the right way. More funding will make it less likely that police engage in the kind of unlawful violence that killed Floyd and too many others. Polling by CBS in 2022 found only 9 percent of Americans believed providing less funding for police would help prevent violent crime, while 49 percent said more funding for police would do so. A Gallup poll the same year found 89 percent of Americans believed minor or major changes were needed to improve policing — including 87 percent of whites, 90 percent of Hispanics and 95 percent of Blacks. Focus on preventing crime, not just crime response: Putting more cops on the street and having them get out of their patrol cars to build relationships with people and businesses helps officers gather intelligence about bad actors. The increased presence of officers in communities will prevent crime. This is an expensive but necessary step if we are serious about police reform. Independently investigate alleged misconduct: Rather than relying on police departments to police themselves and investigate officers accused of misconduct, states and localities should set up independent commissions to objectively conduct such investigations. Reward good cops and punish bad ones: Officers who report misconduct by colleagues should be rewarded financially and with promotions, while officers acting improperly should be disciplined, including with firing and prosecution when they commit crimes. A national database of fired officers should be established so bad cops can't get hired by departments in other localities. Increase police pay and education requirements: Raising police pay will make it easier to attract well-qualified job applicants. Departments should require every new hire to have at least two years of college and eventually a four-year degree. A 2017 national survey found that about 52 percent of officers had two-year college degrees, about 30 percent had four-year degrees and about 5 percent had graduate degrees. Governing Magazine reported in 2023 that 'research suggests that officers with college degrees generate fewer substantiated complaints and … are less likely to shoot or kill members of the public.' Increase screening of police recruits and veteran officers: Use psychological tests and in-depth interviews to identify those unsuitable for police work because they are too eager to use violence — especially if they feel threatened — or too prejudiced against certain groups. Increase officer training: Better training will make officers better able to do their jobs without resorting to deadly force. This should include training in psychology and mental health to assist officers in dealing with people experiencing a mental health crisis. Alternatively, set up a division of mental health police officers to address incidents where drugs or mental issues are the source of bad conduct. 'One in five fatal police shooting victims may have been experiencing a mental health crisis … at the time of their death,' a federal study of 633 deadly police shootings concluded. These recommendations are all common sense and promote justice and public safety. With the Trump administration abandoning its responsibility to investigate police misconduct and demand reforms, the job passes to state and local governments. Doing so would be a fitting tribute to George Floyd and the many others wrongfully killed by police. A. Scott Bolden is an attorney, former New York state prosecutor, NewsNation contributor and former chair of the Washington, D.C. Democratic Party. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Man Arrested for Allegedly Calling in a Fake Bomb Threat After He Missed His Spirit Airlines Flight at Detroit Airport
A man was arrested after he allegedly called in a fake bomb threat when he missed his Spirit Airlines flight from an airport in Detroit on June 5 Charles Robinson allegedly made the threat after he "was told at the gate that he needed to rebook," the United States Attorney's Office said "The safety of our guests and team members is our top priority," Spirit Airlines said in a statement to PEOPLEA man was arrested after he allegedly called in a fake bomb threat when he missed his Spirit Airlines flight. Charles Robinson planned to travel from the Detroit Metropolitan Airport to Los Angeles on Thursday, June 5, 'but missed the flight and was told at the gate that he needed to rebook," according to a news release from the United States Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Michigan. Robinson, 23, then allegedly proceeded to call Spirit Airlines at approximately 6:25 a.m. to report a threat, stating that he had 'information' about how there would "be someone who's gonna try to blow up the airport" and 'there's gonna be someone that's gonna try to blow up that flight, 2145," officials said. He allegedly also gave a description of an individual, telling Spirit Airlines, per the attorney's office, "They're going to be carrying a bomb through the TSA" and "They're still threatening to do it, they're still attempted to do it, they said it's not going to be able to be detected. Please don't let that flight board.' The district attorney's office said the flight was immediately postponed, and passengers and crew were subsequently deplaned. Bomb sniffing dogs and FBI agents were then 'deployed to sweep the airplane," but no 'bomb or explosives were found," according to the news release. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. When Robinson eventually returned to the airport to board another flight, he was detained, the district attorney's office said. He later appeared in federal court, where he was released on bond. His next court appearance is set for June 27. 'No American wants to hear the words 'bomb' and 'airplane' in the same sentence. Making this kind of threat undermines our collective sense of security and wastes valuable law enforcement resources,' U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon said in a statement. 'Anyone who threatens to bomb an aircraft and endanger public safety will be swiftly investigated and brought to justice,' added Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. The FBI continues to investigate the incident. Joci Moore, one of the passengers of the flight, recalled the harrowing incident to CBS News. She said the plane had begun to back away from the gate when the captain told them that they were 'being held up.' 'So something at the gate had happened,' she told the outlet. 'You could just kind of feel something was wrong, but we didn't really know what was wrong.' Moore added that passengers were left on the plane for three hours before they were then asked to exit the plane without their belongings. She said they were then taken back to the terminal and waited an additional two hours before they could board the plane again after it was inspected and cleared by police. In a statement to PEOPLE, a Spirt Airlines spokesperson said, "Law enforcement was requested to meet Spirit Airlines flight 2145 (DTW-LAX) prior to departure from Detroit (DTW) due to a potential security issue.' "The aircraft taxied to a remote location, and guests were safely deplaned and transported back to the terminal. The guests were rescreened, and the aircraft was inspected and cleared by law enforcement," they continued. Added the airline's spokesperson: "The safety of our guests and team members is our top priority, and the flight reboarded and departed to Los Angeles (LAX)." Read the original article on People
