A man from Wisconsin brutally murdered and dismembered a 19-year-old college student during their first date, after being influenced by a Netflix show that depicted a similar crime.
Maxwell Anderson was found guilty of homicide and dismemberment for the brutal killing of Sade Robinson on April 1, 2024, mere days after they met at a bar.
They spent their ill-fated date’s late afternoon and early evening drinking at two bars before ultimately returning to Anderson’s residence.
At one point, Anderson turned on the Netflix series Love, Death & Robots.
The finale of Season 2 is an episode called ‘The Drowned Giant’ which shows a gruesome dismantling of a human body on a beach.
Prosecutors in the case claimed that Anderson mutilated Robinson’s body on a Wisconsin beach overlooking Lake Michigan.
‘I was like… that’s disgusting because that could have been where he got some of his ideas or fantasies,’ juror Melissa Blascoe told the Milwaukee-Journal Sentinel.
‘I physically felt like I was gonna throw up at that point. I know a lot of people were shaking and crying.’
Anderson was also charged with arson and hiding a corpse in connection with her death. He was found guilty on all counts.
Sade Robinson (pictured), 19, was killed and dismembered by Maxwell Anderson after the pair went on a first date in April last year
Anderson (pictured) was found guilty on all four counts after being charged with first-degree intentional homicide, dismembering a corpse, arson and hiding a corpse
Robinson’s mother, Sheena Scarbrough (pictured left), said that her daughter was a ‘loving daughter, a cherished sister, and a dear friend to many’
Investigators said that Anderson is believed to have spread her remains around Milwaukee County and burned her car to hide evidence.
Anderson and Robinson had met at a bar a week before she disappeared, Assistant District Attorney Ian Vance-Curzan said.
Disturbing images showed Robinson being groped by Anderson while she lay face down on his couch, and prosecutors said she was far too incapacitated to have resisted.
Surveillance video showed Robinson’s car leaving the apartment in the early hours of April 2 before arriving at a county park along Lake Michigan shores.
The young student’s disappearance sparked concern when she didn’t appear for work the next day.
Her manager, Justin Romano, told CNN that Robinson was ‘very outgoing, she would talk to everybody here. She was always there to lighten the mood.’
Romano said her not showing up for work ‘wasn’t like her at all,’ and added: ‘We kind of knew something was up; we had been calling her all day.’
Anderson is believed to have dismembered her body into pieces and burned her car behind an abandoned building before taking a bus back to his apartment, Vance-Curzan said.
Within the car, despite ‘extreme fire damage,’ investigator’s identified the outfit Robinson had been wearing on the night of the date as well as part of an iPhone consistent with hers burned in the car, CNN reported.
Anderson is believed to have dismembered her body into pieces and burned her car behind an abandoned building before taking a bus back to his apartment
Her manager, Justin Romano, said that Robinson was ‘very outgoing, she would talk to everybody here. She was always there to lighten the mood’
Police then were called to Warnimont Park where a human leg, that appeared to have been ‘sawn off’ at the hip, was discovered. The leg was then identified as Robinson’s.
A ‘confidential informant’ claimed that Anderson had planned to kill Robinson weeks prior to her death, Fox News reported.
Anderson’s attorney, Tony Cotton, argued, however, that the prosecution showed no evidence of Anderson’s intention to kill Robinson.
Cotton also pointed out he made no attempt to conceal himself on public transport home, and was wearing clean clothes despite having allegedly cut up her body in a muddy park.
Jurors reached their verdict within an hour on the ninth day of trial.
‘While we are satisfied with this verdict, our hearts go out to the family of Sade Robinson,’ Vane-Curzan said, Fox News reported.
Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Det. JoAnn Donner spent months working on the case and said: ‘My heart goes out to the family and [Robinson’s] friends and really, the community at large.
‘It’s everyone’s come together, and it’s really hard to take that step back as a law enforcement officer and not get that really emotionally involved during the case,’ she continued. ‘I will admit that I did go back to my office after the verdict, and I had a good cry because I finally got to have that emotion. It does affect us too.’
Robinson’s mother, Sheena Scarbrough, said in a GoFundMe for her daughter’s memorial service that Robinson was a ‘loving daughter, a cherished sister, and a dear friend to many.’
‘The pain of losing Sade has left a void in the hearts of her family, especially her grieving mother and little sister, along with other relatives, friends and the entire community who loved and supported her,’ the fundraiser said.
Anderson is set for sentencing on August 15, where he faces a mandatory life sentence in prison.
