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Robinson found guilty in Harrisonburg shopping cart murders

Anthony Eugene Robinson looks on in Rockingham County Circuit Court as the jury recommends he receive four life sentences and 10 years for the murders of Allene "Beth" Redmon and Tonita Lorice Smith.
Daniel Lin/Pool Photo
Anthony Eugene Robinson looks on in Rockingham County Circuit Court as the jury recommends he receive four life sentences and 10 years for the murders of Allene "Beth" Redmon and Tonita Lorice Smith.

On the fourth day of trial, a jury found Anthony Robinson guilty of murdering two women in Harrisonburg in 2021. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.

The jury deliberated for less than an hour on Thursday before finding Anthony Eugene Robinson guilty of all six counts he was charged with in the deaths of Allene "Beth" Redmon and Tonita Lorice Smith. He had met both women on dating apps and invited them to his motel room at the Howard Johnson in Harrisonburg, where he was staying as an employee of Pilgrim's Pride.

The final witness Thursday morning was Dr. Eli Goodman, the medical examiner who performed autopsies on both women. In both cases, he ruled the manner of death was homicide, although the bodies' deterioration prevented him from determining what exactly killed the women. One factor in that determination for Smith was the antemortem bleeding present in her eyes, which indicated suffocation.

"We know that she was killed by somebody else, but because of the deterioration of the body due to decomposition, the injuries were masked or they were more subtle than they might have been otherwise," Goodman said.

Redmon's body had been exposed to the elements and insects for weeks longer, but she was found with a bag over her head, which also "raises suspicion for suffocation." Robinson's defense attorney, Louis Nagy, questioned the medical examiner about Redmon's severe coronary artery disease and the methamphetamine found in her toxicology screen. However, Goodman testified he did not see evidence of an overdose or heart attack.

Robinson did not testify and remained silent throughout the trial. In closing arguments, Commonwealth's Attorney Marsha Garst showed photos of the women alive with their families and from the autopsies.

Commonwealth's Attorney Marsha Garst delivers her closing argument during Anthony Eugene Robinson's murder trial Thursday.
Daniel Lin/Pool Photo
Commonwealth's Attorney Marsha Garst delivers her closing argument during Anthony Eugene Robinson's murder trial Thursday.

Garst said the fact that both women and another alleged victim in Washington, D.C. were found naked from the chest down except for socks was "the signature – like signing your name." She pointed out that he slept with their blood in his bed until being arrested.

Nagy argued that bad police work had left holes in the prosecution's case, such as not testing two small vials found in his room for drugs and not speaking to one of the motel guests staying in one of the adjacent rooms. Earlier in the trial, he had also shown surveillance footage of housekeeping staff using at least two orange-handled shopping carts on the Howard Johnson property. He wheeled the cart shown as evidence in front of the jury.

He asked them, "are you sure beyond a reasonable doubt this is the cart?"

Louis Nagy, defense attorney for Anthony Eugene Robinson, presents the shopping cart that may have been used to transport the bodies during closing statements in Thursday's murder trial.
Daniel Lin/Pool Photo
Louis Nagy, defense attorney for Anthony Eugene Robinson, presents the shopping cart that may have been used to transport the bodies during closing statements in Thursday's murder trial.

Robinson was convicted of two counts of first degree murder, two counts of aggravated murder for killing multiple people within three years, and two counts of concealing a dead body.

Four of the victims' family members gave emotional statements before sentencing. Dean Smith, Tonita's brother, spoke by video conference from jail, where he has been held since yelling at the defendant in court on Monday. Smith said he and his fiance took in two of Tonita's six children after her murder. "Every night they have a nightmare asking where their mother is," he said.

Steven Robinson, Tonita's father, said his daughter's murder "has just torn me up."

Allene "Beth" Redmon and Tonita Lorice Smith as seen in Facebook photos prior to their murders.
Facebook
Allene "Beth" Redmon and Tonita Lorice Smith as seen in Facebook photos prior to their murders.

Amanda May, Beth Redmon's daughter, said after her mother went missing she was evicted from their apartment, and ended up staying at the Howard Johnson while both Robinson and her mother's body were there. She described Redmon as a "vibrant, loving woman" who would never get to meet her youngest grandchild, who has the same red hair and green eyes as her grandmother.

Jennings Lambert, Redmon's brother, recounted the letters she wrote to him when he was in the Army, stationed in Iraq. "I don't have my big sister anymore," he said.

Judge Bruce Albertson amended Dean Smith's 10-day jail sentence for contempt of court to time served, in light of the stress he was under and his clean record.

The jury recommended Robinson be sentenced to four life sentences for the murder charges, plus 10 years for concealing the bodies – the maximum amount of time possible – and a $400,000 fine. The judge ordered a presentence investigation report to be assembled before he rules on the final sentence on September 17. In Virginia, aggravated murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

Randi B. Hagi first joined the WMRA team in 2019 as a freelance reporter. Her work has been featured on NPR and other NPR member stations; in The Harrisonburg Citizen, where she previously served as the assistant editor;The Mennonite; Mennonite World Review; and Eastern Mennonite University's Crossroads magazine.
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