Wisconsin couple shot in head at point-blank range by daughter's boyfriend for money, suspect police
MADISON, WISCONSIN: A respected physician and her husband were murdered "execution-style" by their adopted daughter's boyfriend and an accomplice for money, police have revealed.
MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) had previously reported how the bodies of Dr Beth Potter, 52, a University of Wisconsin physician, and her husband Robin Carre, 57, an independent education consultant, were found by a jogger in the UW Arboretum, which comprises more than 1,200 acres of forests and prairies, at around 6.30 am on March 31.
Carre was pronounced dead at the scene while Potter died shortly after she was rushed to an area hospital. The Dane County Medical Examiner's Office subsequently determined that they had died from "homicidal related trauma".
After conducting a series of interviews and reviewing video footage, investigators arrested 18-year-old Khari Sanford, the boyfriend of the couple's adopted daughter, and his 18-year-old friend Ali'Jah Larrue in connection to the murders.
The day before the couple was murdered, Potter had reportedly confided in a friend that she had moved their adopted daughter, Miriam Potter Carre, and Sanford to an Airbnb because they weren't following social distancing protocols put in place amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
Potter is said to have been at a greater risk of infection because of medications she had been taking and was concerned about Potter Carre and Sanford going in and out of the house. When they were put in the Airbnb, the former allegedly told her mother, "You don't care about me."
When questioned about the night of March 30, Potter Carre told police she and Sanford were at the rental property and had fallen asleep while watching a movie. However, a forensic search of her phone showed that she was not with her boyfriend at the time.
Furthermore, traffic cameras had captured the white minivan that the couple had lent their daughter driving by the crime scene, and which investigators believe Sanford and Larrue used to kidnap the victims from their Near West Side Madison home.
Police also said that Sanford had admitted to a friend that he shot the couple and had heard that Potter might implicate him in the killings because she had survived the attempt on her life.
In a possible motive, Larrue revealed to them that he had overheard Sanford and Potter Carre talking in ceramics class about getting money from her parents, who "were rich".
Sanford and Larrue have both been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and made their first appearance in court on April 7, where a judge set their bail at $1 million.
Attorneys for Sanford and Larrue asked the courts that their bail amounts be lowered, a move that the prosecution ultimately succeeded in protesting.
"This was a brutal execution,” Dane County assistant district attorney William Brown said, pointing out how Carre had been found in his underwear and Potter in her pajamas. He said the incident had begun as a burglary that escalated into kidnapping and, eventually, a double-homicide where both victims were shot point-blank in the head.
UW-Madison Police spokesman Marc Lovicott said the investigation into the case was still ongoing and did not rule out further arrests before adding, "We believe we have the two primary suspects directly responsible for these murders arrested and in custody. We are not looking for any other primary suspects."