‘What Kind of Person Cuts Somebody’s Head Off?’: Wisconsin Man Found Guilty of Sade Robinson Murder After Prosecutors Reveal Suspect Had Deleted Photos of Her Incapacitated On Phone

Posted by Yasmeen F. | Published on: June 6, 2025

Reprinted by Sunny Imanche on June 7, 2025

Prosecutors admitted a mountain of evidence connecting Maxwell Anderson to the grisly murder of 19-year-old Sade Robinson, against a defense that presented very little in a trial that lasted less than two weeks and ultimately ended in Anderson’s conviction Friday.

Anderson was found guilty of first-degree intentional homicide, mutilation of a corpse, hiding a corpse, and arson in connection with Robinson’s death.

Anderson was accused of taking Robinson on a first date on April 1, 2024, then killing her, dismembering her body, and scattering her body parts across the city of Milwaukee.

The day after their date, local police were called to a Lake Michigan park where Robinson’s severed leg had washed up on shore. Her scorched car was also found in an alley in the city that same day.

The ghastly nature of her death drew national attention and spurred volunteer efforts to locate her remains, some of which are still missing. A few of her body parts were even found on Lake Michigan shores in the neighboring state of Illinois.

Investigators collected cellphone location data and surveillance images from Milwaukee to piece together a timeline of events covering Anderson’s and Robinson’s movements on their date until the time when her leg was found the next day.

Prosecutors presented 300 pieces of evidence during the trial and called 65 witnesses, including law enforcement agents, forensic experts, Robinson’s friends, Anderson’s former girlfriend, and his former tenant, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

A confidential informant who knows Anderson also told police that Anderson planned the killing weeks in advance, walked them through his murder plot, and even showed them three saws in his basement, which was covered from floor to ceiling in paint tarp.

Anderson’s cellphone data also revealed photos of Robinson that he later deleted, showing her incapacitated and partially undressed. The 19-year-old’s DNA was found on a sweater Anderson was wearing the day after the date, and bus transit security footage also showed him wearing a backpack on April 2 that detectives never found.

Against the prosecution’s substantial case, Anderson’s attorneys presented no evidence and called no witnesses. They rested their case just minutes after the state rested its. Anderson also waived his right to testify.

But in his closing arguments, defense attorney Anthony Cotton took aim at the lack of DNA evidence connecting Anderson to Robinson’s death, stating that his client’s DNA wasn’t found in Robinson’s burned car and that her DNA wasn’t found at Anderson’s home.

“I didn’t see any evidence of an intent to kill Sade,” Cotton said, adding that Anderson went to work the next day with no issues.

“You didn’t hear from one person who said suddenly his behavior is different or that he started acting strange, he continued to work, stayed in the area, didn’t cut his hair, didn’t change his appearance, didn’t have a ton of cash in his car with a passport to Mexico. None of that,” Cotton added, per WITI.

Lead prosecutor Ian Vance-Curzan underscored several portions of their case to the jury and unequivocally declared Anderson Robinson’s killer.

“What kind of person cuts off someone’s head off? A killer. A killer who’s trying to get away with killing,” Vance-Curzan said. “There is no question about the person responsible for doing it. The killer, it’s him, the last person to be with her, last one texting her, the last one whose residence she was at, the last one who had her car, the last one who had her phone, the last one who was with her. The one who burned her car.”

The 33-year-old’s trial began on May 27 and lasted 9 days.

It took the jury less than an hour to deliberate and return their verdict on June 6, convicting Anderson on all four charges he faced.

Maxwell’s attorneys said they “respect the jury’s verdict.” Anderson’s family was not present at his trial.

“My heart goes out to Sade’s family,” Cotton stated after the verdict was delivered. “I can’t imagine what they’re going through.”

Robinson’s mother, Sheena Scarbrough, briefly spoke to the press after the trial concluded. She provided no comment on the verdict, but took the time to remember her daughter.

“She will be forever remembered as an angel. She is a hero,” Scarbrough said. “I haven’t really had a day to breathe since April of last year.”

Scarbrough formed a foundation to honor her daughter, which offers scholarships and self-defense classes to women. She also raised funds from the Milwaukee community to install a memorial in the city dedicated to Sade.

Verona Swanigan, an attorney representing Robinson’s family, said the family intends to advocate for legislation to combat sex trafficking and the kidnapping of women.

They will also pursue their wrongful death lawsuit against Anderson, which was filed last June.

Anderson will be sentenced on Aug. 15. In Wisconsin, a first-degree intentional homicide conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison.