Anthony Robinson, known as the "shopping cart killer," stands trial in Virginia, accused of murdering two women he met on dating apps in 2021. Prosecutors allege he brought the victims to his hotel room and disposed of their bodies using a shopping cart.
Video footage presented to the jury allegedly shows Robinson entering a Howard Johnson hotel room with Beth Redmon in October 2021 and later wheeling a sheet-covered object towards the trees behind the hotel. Prosecutors argue he repeated this process the following month with Tonia Smith.
The prosecution contends Robinson committed these acts to "fulfill his sexual demands." While he is currently on trial for the deaths of Redmon and Smith, he has also been linked to other deaths in Fairfax County and Washington, D.C.
The bodies of Redmon and Smith were discovered behind the Howard Johnson motel in November 2021. Investigators reported finding injuries on their bodies, sweatshirts around their mouths, and both women naked except for socks. Furthermore, police found thousands of pornographic URLs on Robinson's phone, some allegedly resembling the victims.
Robinson's defense questions the prosecution's narrative, highlighting the lack of direct evidence showing what occurred in the hotel room. They point out that Robinson was staying at the hotel due to his employment at a nearby chicken processing plant and that the prosecution relies on inmate testimony, which they argue lacks credibility.
While the coroner ruled the deaths as homicides, the exact cause remains unclear. The defense emphasizes the abundance of evidence before and after the alleged incidents, but argues the crucial details of what transpired during the timeframe of the deaths are missing.
