‘Shopping Cart Killer’ Suspected in Four Deaths, Police Say

U.S.|‘Shopping Cart Killer’ Suspected successful Four Deaths, Police Say

A antheral the authorities are calling the Shopping Cart Killer, whom they fishy successful the deaths of astatine slightest 4 radical crossed Virginia, is successful custody aft video grounds was utilized to link him to 2 bodies recovered successful an unfastened lot, the constabulary announced connected Friday.

The man, Anthony Robinson, met victims connected online dating sites, took them to motels to termination them and transported their remains successful buying carts to “their last resting place,” Kevin Davis, the Fairfax County constabulary chief, said astatine a quality league connected Friday. He added that “there whitethorn beryllium different victims successful the country and passim the Commonwealth of Virginia,” arsenic good arsenic successful different states connected the East Coast.

Mr. Robinson, 35, has been held astatine the Rockingham-Harrisonburg Regional Jail successful Harrisonburg, Va., connected 2 counts of murder since precocious past period aft video grounds and telephone records were utilized to link him to 2 pistillate victims whose remains were recovered successful an unfastened batch successful the city’s commercialized district. The videos amusement Mr. Robinson dropping disconnected the victims successful the batch utilizing buying carts, Chief Davis said.

The Harrisonburg and Charlottesville Police Departments had been conducting abstracted missing persons investigations searching for the 2 women — Allene Elizabeth Redmon, 54, of Harrisonburg and Tonita Lorice Smith, 39, of Charlottesville — erstwhile their remains were discovered connected Nov. 23, Kelley Warner, the Harrisonburg constabulary chief, said connected Friday.

The 2 women’s bodies were recovered a abbreviated region from each other, but they had been killed astatine antithetic times, Chief Warner added.

Mr. Robinson was arrested soon aft the discoveries, which led to much evidence. The constabulary successful Washington, D.C., contacted Harrisonburg’s large crimes part connected Nov. 30 to enactment that the past interaction a missing idiosyncratic they were investigating had talked to was Mr. Robinson. Those telephone records led the constabulary to hunt an country adjacent the Moon Inn successful Fairfax County.

On Wednesday, investigators discovered a integrative instrumentality adjacent to a Target buying cart tucked distant successful an isolated wooded country successful Fairfax County adjacent Alexandria. The instrumentality held the remains of 2 much victims.

Officers tentatively identified 1 of the victims arsenic Cheyenne Brown, 29, who was past seen connected Sept. 30, erstwhile she took the Washington Metro to the Huntington halt successful Alexandria. Cellphone and video records spot Mr. Robinson and Ms. Brown astatine the Huntington Metro halt connected the aforesaid day, according to Maj. Ed O’Carroll, bureau main for large crimes, cyber and forensics of the Fairfax County police.

The different remains recovered successful the instrumentality were severely decomposed and volition instrumentality much clip to identify, Chief Davis said.

“He’s killed 4 already, and we fishy helium has much victims,” Chief Davis said. “He preys connected the weak, helium preys connected the susceptible and helium does unspeakable things with his victims.”

The authorities are present conducting a “retrospective” probe to find retired much astir Mr. Robinson’s movements and place different imaginable victims.

“We cognize who helium is, convey God he’s down bars close now,” Chief Davis said. “But that inactive doesn’t instrumentality distant from the urgency that exists to place immoderate different victims that mightiness beryllium retired here.”

“That’s what worries us,” the main said. “He didn’t abruptly crook into who helium is 3 months ago.” Mr. Robinson has “a singular lack of a transgression history,” and had had plentifulness of jobs and addresses ranging from New York City to Fairfax, Va.

“That transient quality has prompted america to fig retired wherever he’s been for the past respective years,” Chief Davis said.

The authorities are starting the probe by cross-referencing Mr. Robinson’s online-dating connections against missing persons reports.

Chief Warner said that Mr. Robinson had not fixed the constabulary immoderate benignant of cooperative connection since his arrest.