More women slain by "shopping cart killer" identified as police look for more victims, authorities say
Authorities in Virginia have positively identified the remains of two women they say were killed by a man they believe is a serial killer who used a shopping cart to transport his victims' bodies after meeting them on dating sites. CBS affiliate WUSA-TV reports police also believe they have identified a fifth victim of the alleged serial killer.
WUSA-TV reports that police said DNA analysis confirmed that remains found in a container in Fairfax County on Dec. 15 belong to 29-year-old Cheyenne Brown, of Washington, D.C., and 48-year-old Stephanie Harrison, of Redding, Calif. Fairfax County Police Chief Keven Davis and Major Ed O'Carroll made the announcement during a news conference Friday evening.
Police believe Anthony Robinson, 35, of Washington, D.C., is responsible for the deaths of four women found at two different locations in Virginia. Police have previously dubbed Robinson the "shopping cart killer."
"After he inflicts trauma to his victims and kills them, he transports their bodies to their final resting place literally in a shopping cart— and there's video to that effect," Davis previously said.
Davis said Brown met Robinson on the dating app Plenty of Fish. Investigators believe Robinson uses this dating app, as well as the dating app Tagged, to lure victims, WUSA-TV reported.
Police arrested Robinson in November and charged him with two counts of murder after finding two bodies in a vacant lot in Harrisonburg.
Evidence uncovered after Robinson's arrest led police to search an area near the Moon Inn in Fairfax County.
During the search, detectives noticed a shopping cart and recalled that a cart had been used to transport the bodies in the Harrisonburg cases.
Near the shopping cart was a large plastic container that held the remains of two women.
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said Friday that Robinson "remains our primary suspect" in the killings of Brown and Harrison.
A possible fifth victim has been identified in the Washington, D.C. area. O'Carroll, who leads FCPD's Major Crimes Cyber and Forensic Bureau, said investigators now believe Robinson is linked to a D.C. investigation into a woman who was also found dead in a shopping cart, WUSA-TV reports. The Metropolitan Police Department says that death investigation first began September 7th.
The two victims who were found dead in Harrisonburg were previously identified as Tonita Lorice Smith, 39, of Charlottesville, and Allene Elizabeth "Beth" Redmon, 54, of Harrisonburg.
Officials believe there are likely even more victims possible beyond the Commonwealth, D.C. area and the east coast. According to Davis, police have scanned through all of the "missing person cases" from 35 police departments in the DMV to find more victims.
They are also working with the FBI and authorities in New York—the home state of Robinson—to get more information and create a victimology.
"Anthony Eugene Robinson has our undivided attention," Davis said. "We are leaving no stone unturned [in regards to evidence]."
Anyone with information about this case, or information about Robinson (and his interactions on dating apps), should call FCPD's Major Crimes Division at 703-246-7800. Anyone with anonymous tips can call 1-866-411-TIPS.
"We want to know if there's any additional victims or survivors," O'Carroll said.
