A Milwaukee, USA man, Maxwell Anderson, has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the brutal killing and dismemberment of 19-year-old college student Sade Robinson, whom he met on a first date.
Anderson was convicted in June of first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse, arson, and hiding a corpse in connection with the 2024 killing. He maintained his innocence throughout the trial.
During Friday’s sentencing in Milwaukee County Circuit Court, Judge Laura Crivello delivered a scathing rebuke, calling Anderson's crimes “unconscionable” and describing the case as “something out of a horror story.”
The courtroom was filled with emotion as Robinson’s parents gave powerful victim impact statements. Her mother, Sheena Scarbrough, said Anderson had “messed the entire community up” and urged the court to offer him no protection in prison.
Her father, Carlos Robinson, was even more direct: “Everything that he did should be done to him. No man should be able to live after what he did.”
Although first-degree intentional homicide in Wisconsin carries a mandatory life sentence, the judge had discretion over parole eligibility. Anderson’s attorney, Tony Cotton, requested the possibility of parole after 25 years, citing Anderson’s U.S. Navy service and mental health issues. He also expressed concern for Anderson’s safety in prison.
Judge Crivello rejected the request, stating that Anderson is “irredeemable.” She added that his perception of events “differs from the rest of the world.”
Anderson again proclaimed his innocence in court, saying, “I hope true justice will be delivered,” and announced plans to appeal. He previously claimed that Robinson left his apartment and was abducted by a stranger.
Investigators say the pair met at a bar in March 2024, and on April 1, surveillance footage and phone records show they spent time drinking at two bars before going to Anderson’s apartment. Photos recovered from Anderson’s phone show him groping Robinson while she lay face-down on his couch, suggesting she may have been incapacitated.
Later, surveillance captured her car being driven to a park near Lake Michigan. Prosecutors believe that’s where Anderson dismembered her body. He later burned her car and took a bus home.
Searchers discovered some of Robinson’s remains at various locations: a leg in the park, a foot and another leg near a playground, and a torso and arm that washed ashore in suburban South Milwaukee. Her head has never been found.
In addition to life without parole, Anderson was sentenced to 7½ years for mutilating a corpse and 18 months for arson. The charge of hiding a corpse was dismissed.
