Anthony Eugene Robinson

Serial Killer

Anthony Eugene Robinson: The "Shopping Cart Killer"

Overview

Anthony Eugene Robinson is an American serial killer whose crimes became associated with motels, online dating websites and the use of shopping carts to transport and conceal the bodies of his victims. Robinson operated primarily in Virginia and the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area during 2021. Investigators determined that he contacted women through dating platforms, arranged to meet them and brought them to inexpensive motel rooms where they were later killed. The unusual method Robinson used to dispose of the bodies led Fairfax County police officials to describe him publicly as the "Shopping Cart Killer." Surveillance recordings showed him pushing shopping carts containing large objects wrapped in motel bedding. The bodies of four women were eventually recovered near motels where Robinson had stayed. He was convicted of murdering two of those women, while authorities identified him as a suspect or person of interest in several additional deaths.

The Harrisonburg Murders

Robinson was staying at a Howard Johnson motel on South Main Street in Harrisonburg, Virginia, while working in the area during the fall of 2021. Prosecutors said he separately brought Allene Elizabeth "Beth" Redmon and Tonita Lorice Smith into his motel room. Neither woman was seen alive again after entering the room. Security cameras became a central part of the investigation. Recordings showed Redmon arriving at Robinson's room on October 24, 2021. Hours later, Robinson was recorded pushing a shopping cart from the motel with a large object wrapped in sheets and bedding. He moved the object to an undeveloped lot beside the motel. Investigators later concluded that the object was Redmon's body. Less than a month later, Tonita Smith entered the same motel and met Robinson. Surveillance recordings again showed Robinson using a shopping cart to remove a large, covered object from his room. Smith's blood was found on bedding inside the room, and her remains were recovered from the same vacant property where Redmon had been concealed. Redmon and Smith were not killed together. Their bodies had been placed approximately 15 feet apart after two separate encounters with Robinson. The repeated pattern involving the motel room, the shopping cart and the nearby disposal site gave detectives compelling evidence that the same offender was responsible for both deaths. ...

Confirmed Victims: (2)

Allene Elizabeth Redmon Age: (54), Date of Death: 2021-10-24

Suspected Victims:

Cheyenne Brown Age: (29), Date of Death: 2021-09-30

Stephanie Harrison Age: (48), Date of Death: 2021-12-15

Sonya Champ Age: (40), Date of Death: 2021-09-07

Survivors:

Monica White Age: (53)

DNA links 'shopping cart killer' suspect to DC murder, prosecutor ...