In the autumn of 2021, a sense of dread unfolded in Charlottesville, Virginia, with the disappearance of 39-year-old Tonita Lorice “Nita” Smith. A mother of six, she was a cherished member of her family and community. Concerns grew when she was officially reported missing on November 19, 2021, having last been seen five days earlier in Charlottesville. The search for Tonita would come to a grim conclusion, entangling her fate with that of another woman and revealing a sinister pattern of violence.
On November 24, 2021, the heartbreaking discovery was made in the city of Harrisonburg. Tonita Smith's body was found in a vacant lot, a desolate and undeveloped piece of land. She was not alone. Near her, authorities also located the remains of 54-year-old Allene Elizabeth “Beth” Redmon of Harrisonburg. The tragic finding launched a complex investigation that soon pointed to a single suspect. Police arrested Anthony Eugene Robinson, a 35-year-old man from Washington, D.C., in connection with the deaths.
The investigation revealed that Robinson, who would later be grimly nicknamed the “Shopping Cart Killer,” had a chilling method of operation. It is believed he used a shopping cart to transport the bodies of his victims to their final, secluded resting places. The medical examiner later determined that Tonita Smith's death was a homicide caused by 'homicidal violence of undetermined etiology'. As the case against Robinson solidified, he was charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Tonita Smith and Beth Redmon, along with two felony counts of concealing a dead body.
The legal proceedings that followed brought to light the tragic details of Tonita's final days and the cold-blooded nature of her killer. In January 2025, a jury found Anthony Eugene Robinson guilty on all charges, including two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated murder. The conviction brought a measure of justice for the families of Tonita Smith and Beth Redmon, though the pain of their loss endures. Robinson now faces the possibility of life in prison for his heinous crimes.
