'Shopping Cart Killer': Bodies of 4 alleged victims of Anthony Robinson found in Virginia
FAIRFAX COUNTY, VIRGINIA: Four bodies have been found at two different locations in Virginia, and law enforcement authorities believed that they were the victims of the 'Shopping Cart Killer' who was allegedly behind more murders of two women whose bodies were found in November. On Friday, December 17, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said at a press conference that one Anthony Robinson has allegedly killed those four persons. He also allegedly took the lives of Allene Elizabeth “Beth” Redmon, 54, and Tonita Lorice Smith, 39, whose remains were discovered in a vacant lot in Harrisonburg, Virginia, in November.
At the time, the 45-year-old accused was arrested and pressed with two counts of first-degree murder as well as two felony counts of concealing, transporting or altering a dead body. The authorities have reportedly nicknamed the suspected serial killer the “Shopping Cart Killer” because after murdering his preys, he transports their remains to vacant lots in a shopping cart to get rid of them. His latest alleged victims’ bodies were discovered abandoned in the 2400 block of Fairhaven Avenue in Alexandria. “He preys on the weak, he preys on the vulnerable, and he does unspeakable things with his victims,” Davis said.
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The police chief also noted: “We're in the process of conducting, along with many other partners, a retrospective investigation to figure out where he's been. And we're going to work with our law enforcement partners, homicide detectives, missing person detectives, to see if we can identify any other victims and families and communities that he has brought harm to.”
Out of four of his latest victims, one is believed to be Cheyenne Brown of Southeast DC. The 29-year-old was seen with Robinson on security footage at the DC Metro before she was reported missing ten days ago. Davis stated, “We have a tattoo that's been positively identified by her family as Cheyenne's tattoo, and the reason why we're not waiting ... until we get positive and 100 percent positive DNA or dental verification that it is Cheyenne, is because we believe that there may be other victims in the area and throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. And we need to act now.”
On Friday, Harrisonburg Police Chief Kelley Warner also addressed the media and said that Robinson has not said anything officially after his arrest last month. Though he still faces charges in connection to his earlier arrest, new charges have yet to be brought against him. As per a Rockingham County Jail spokesperson, the accused has been put behind bars without a bond. He is expected to appear for a hearing for the first two deaths in Harrisonburg on December 27. Louis Nagy is reportedly Robinson’s attorney, but no comment has been made by him yet.
Meanwhile, anyone with information related to this incident has been requested to call Detective Leslie Wetherell at 540-432-7788 or email her at leslie.wetherell@harrisonburgva.gov. People can also give anonymous tips related to this case, or any crime to Crime Solvers at (540) 574-5050 or by texting “HPD” plus their tip to CRIMES (274637).