A hearing in Harrisonburg on Tuesday revealed that the man accused of killing two local women is officially wanted for another murder in D.C. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
Anthony Eugene Robinson, who's been dubbed the alleged "Shopping Cart Killer" by law enforcement, appeared in court on Tuesday for a hearing about how his first trial will be conducted. He stands trial later this month for the murder of Tonita Lorice Smith. He has also been charged with killing Allene "Beth" Redmon. That case is set to go to trial in January.
Robinson's defense attorney, Louis Nagy, had asked the court to prohibit prosecutors from mentioning the other four women's deaths in which Robinson is a suspect. But in the hearing, Nagy said he had just found out that morning that there has been a warrant out for Robinson's arrest in D.C. since 2022, for the murder of Sonya Champ. Her body was found in September 2021, just over two months before Smith and Redmon's bodies were found in Harrisonburg, and three months before two other women's bodies were found in Fairfax County.
Commonwealth's Attorney Marsha Garst argued there are specific details about how each of their bodies were transported – in a shopping cart – and found that speak to a distinct modus operandi. She also said Robinson's DNA had been found on Champ's body. Garst said establishing a pattern of "idiosyncratic tactics" Robinson allegedly used to lure and kill the women will refute a statement he made to investigators that Smith and Redmon had taken a white pill and collapsed. Judge Bruce Albertson ruled that the prosecution could bring up the other cases at trial. However, they cannot use the term "serial killer," which does not appear in Virginia law.
The defense also tried to get Smith and Redmon's cases combined and tried together in January. Garst opposed the motion, saying the victims' families were being tortured by the delays. Judge Albertson ruled that the Smith trial will proceed as scheduled, beginning on September 23rd.
