Harrisonburg, Virginia. Then there’s Alexandria, Virginia. And who knows where else? The true crime tale of Anthony Eugene Robinson, a 35-year-old known as the Shopping Cart Killer, unfolds like a gripping horror novel. He’s not just a criminal; he’s the unsettling face of a digital-age serial killer, casting shockwaves through entire communities. Since 2021, he has been the prime suspect in the murders of multiple women, their remains found disposed of in plastic bags. The unsettling story continues without a conclusion in sight.
The rise of a serial killer
This chilling story began in the most harrowing manner, with the discovery of two lifeless bodies on Nov. 24, 2021, near a Howard Johnson motel in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Both victims, Allene Elizabeth Redomn, 54, and Tonita Lorice Smith, 39, were callously discarded in black plastic bags within a trash can, discreetly tucked away in a vacant lot alongside a shopping cart. Though murdered on separate dates, approximately around Oct. 24 and Nov. 14, their stories converged in the same tragic fate.
The authorities swiftly honed in on the suspected perpetrator. Video footage, according to police reports, seemingly captured both women entering Room 336 at the Howard Johnson motel with a man. On each occasion, the man departed before daybreak, only to return with a shopping cart. Allegedly, the evidence also suggests that the same individual was observed moving items of body-sized proportions, wrapped in sheets, between locations using a shopping cart.
Piecing together the connection to Robinson in these two murders turned out surprisingly simple. His name was already on Brown’s cellphone and the motel guest list, given his permanent residence there as part of the compensation for working at a nearby chicken processing plant. Adding to the trail, Redomon’s final phone call directly implicated Robinson. Autopsies brought forth further incriminating evidence — Redmond had a plastic bag over her head, and Smith’s arms were bound behind her back with a “chunky black yarn.” To seal the case, Robinson was found with the receipt for that specific black yarn, purchased from a nearby Walmart.
Anthony Robinson was arrested for murder shortly after the discovery of the bodies. Little did anyone know, that was just the beginning of the story.
The list grows longer
A mere ten days before Christmas, the plot thickened. In a deserted wooded lot opposite the Moon Inn in Fairfax County, Alexandria, Virginia, police stumbled upon the decomposed remains of two women. Cheyenne Brown, 29, a pregnant single mother, and Stephanie Harrison, 48, a tourist from California, were discovered in a plastic container alongside a shopping cart. Sound familiar? Well, it should. The familiar method of operation immediately redirected investigators back to Robinson.
On Dec. 17, Fairfax County Chief of Police Kevin Davis publicly declared that they were dealing with a serial killer, branding him with the moniker ‘Shopping Cart Killer’
“He’s called [that] because he meets his victims…on dating sites. He meets his victims, then, at hotels. After he inflicts trauma to his victims and kills them, he transports their bodies to their final resting place in a shopping cart,” clarified Davis in press conference.
Connecting the dots led investigators to tie Robinson to the four homicides across Virginia. In January, they added one more to the list, holding Robinson responsible for the previous murder of Sonya Champ, whose body was discovered in a shopping cart near Union Station in DC back in September. “Digital evidence,” spanning from online messages to phone calls, didn’t deceive. The alleged modus operandi remained consistent for all the women: he meets them on online apps like Plenty of Fish and Tagged, lures them to hotels, inflicts fatal blunt force trauma, transports their bodies on shopping carts, and disposes of them in trash cans.
Is this the end, you might be wondering? Well, not quite yet. His label as a serial killer prompted investigators to delve deeper into his past, unearthing some unsettling new details. In Feb. 2018, 30-year-old Skye Allen died of cardiac arrhythmia while romantically involved with Robinson. The woman was discovered unconscious and struggling for breath inside the bedroom she shared with Robinson during Valentine’s Day celebrations. Allen’s mother, Stacey Allen, never believed her daughter just died out of the blue. “I asked him, ‘Did you do something to my daughter?’ He said, ‘No,’” she recalled to NBC Washington.
After his name was publicly tied to the murders, people from his past started piecing things together and speaking up. Monica White, who met Robinson through a dating app in 2021, talked to PEOPLE about their relationship and how she feels lucky to be alive. She recounted the multiple red flags spotted at their first in-person meeting and how she sensed something was truly wrong with the guy. Some months later, she would find out why.
A long road to justice
Upon his arrest, Robinson faced two counts of first-degree murder and body disposal charges. The judge saw enough grounds to charge him for the deaths of Smith and Redmon. However, the same couldn’t be said for Brown, Harrison, and Champ’s murders; he’s yet to face charges due to insufficient validation. Evidence fell short for the mysterious death of Skye Allen too – an even tougher case because her body was cremated back in 2018.
Robinson entered a guilty plea for both murders, insisting each woman succumbed to an overdose on a white pill. He claimed he got rid of the bodies to dodge any connection to their deaths. But investigators weren’t sold on his story. In a counter move, Robinson’s lawyer, Louis Nagy, aimed for non-premeditation, pushing for a second-degree murder charge. The tactic didn’t sit well, sparking a whirlwind of disapproval in tribunal circles.
“He purposely secreted their bodies and let them rot. He lured the women there. This was clearly a sado-sexual killing. He didn’t call 911; he used them for what he wanted, then left them rotting with the maggots,” asserted Prosecutor Marsha Garsh.
Chief Judge John Stanley Hart of the Harrisonburg/Rockingham General District Court echoed this sentiment, pointing to a methodical plan to kill and aligning with the prosecutors’ reconstruction of facts.
Close to the end, but not quite there
Now, circling back to the lingering question: where is Robinson? What’s become of him? Despite the charges, a sentence still eludes him. The trial has seen repeated delays as his attorney awaits a forensic psychiatrist to assess his mental sanity. The trial for Smith’s murder is now slated for September 2024, with Redmon’s scheduled for January 2025. Currently, Robinson awaits his next court appearance at Rockingham-Harrisonburg Regional Jail in Harrisonburg.
In the meantime, investigations are still ongoing. The police are sure there’s more to the story waiting to be uncovered, and the fear lingers that more victims might join the tragic list. As the relentless quest for justice in the cases of Brown, Harrison, Redmon, Smith, Champ, and Allen persists, so does the exploration of Robinson’s past to uncover potential new chapters of this already grim story.
Published: Feb 29, 2024 05:50 am