HARRISONBURG, VA — A man accused of killing two Virginia women is now officially wanted in connection with the death of another in Washington, D.C., according to multiple reports citing a Tuesday court hearing.
Anthony Eugene Robinson, dubbed the alleged “Shopping Cart Killer” by authorities, is set to stand trial this month after he was charged with first-degree murder in the death of 39-year-old Tonita Smith of Charlottesville. Next year, he will face a similar trial in the death of 54-year-old Beth Redmon of Harrisonburg.
At a hearing on Tuesday, defense attorneys told a judge they learned that day an arrest warrant was issued for Robinson in 2022 in connection with the death of Sonya Champ, 40, of Northwest Washington, D.C., according to WTOP and WMRA reports.
Champ’s body was found two months before Redmon and Smith’s bodies were discovered on Nov. 23, 2021, in an undeveloped lot near each other.
Fairfax County Police in Virginia said they believe Robinson is linked to two badly decomposed bodies that were found on Dec. 15, 2021, in a large plastic container near a shopping cart in the Alexandria area. Police identified the victims as Cheyenne Brown, 29, of D.C., and Stephanie Harrison, 48, of Redding, California.
At Tuesday’s hearing, defense attorney Louis Nagy requested the court preclude prosecutors from mentioning Champ’s death and the killings in Fairfax County since Robinson is currently charged only in the Harrisonburg deaths of Smith and Redmon, WTOP reported.
Meanwhile, Rockingham County Commonwealth Attorney Marsha Garst argued that the presence of Robinson’s DNA on Champ’s body and the use of shopping carts in their deaths showed a pattern relevant to jurors.
The Washington Post previously reported that police are re-examining the 2018 death of a Maryland woman who Robinson was engaged to marry. The woman could be Robinson’s sixth victim, according to reports.
Skye Allen, 30, died on Valentine’s Day in 2018 when she and Robinson, who she planned to marry, were living with Allen’s mother in Glenarden, The Washington Post reported.
Stacey Allen told Prince George’s County Police she found her daughter barely breathing in the bedroom the younger Allen shared with Robinson. Skye Allen died a short time later at an area hospital.
Her death was found to be caused by “fatal cardiac arrhythmia,” according to a copy of her death certificate obtained by The Post.