A man referred to by law enforcement authorities as the “shopping cart killer” is currently facing trial in Virginia for the alleged murder of two women in 2021. He reportedly connected with the victims through dating apps on social media and brought them to his hotel room.
During the trial, jurors were presented with a video showing the defendant, Anthony Robinson, entering Room 336 at the Howard Johnson Hotel in October 2021 with Beth Redmon, a 54-year-old woman from Harrisonburg. The footage also depicted Robinson wheeling out a body covered with a sheet from the room the following morning.
He then wheeled the car toward the tree line, near the back of the hotel, police said.Â
The individual in question, Anthony Robinson, known as the “shopping cart killer” according to the police, is standing trial in Virginia for the alleged murder of at least two women in 2021. He lured these victims through social media dating platforms and brought them back to his accommodation. (Harrisonburg Police Department)
Investigators found multiple injuries to different parts of the women’s bodies, sweatshirts wrapped around some of their mouths and left naked except for the socks on their feet, according to WHSV. Police also found thousands of pornographic URLs on his phone because the headlines resembled the two victims.
Robinson’s defense team asked “What really happened in room 336?”Â
Robinson was staying in the hotel as part of his compensation for working in a nearby chicken processing plant, according to a hotel front desk employee, and his defense say prosecutors are not able to present evidence of what happened during the period the women were killed.
Beth Redmon, 54, of Harrisonburg, left, and Tonia Smith, 39, of Charlottesville, right, were found dead in 2021. (FOX 5 DC (WTTG))
The coroner ruled the manner of death as a homicide but had no clear cause of death, according to WHSV, and that evidence presented by the prosecutors would leave more questions than answers.
Louis Nagy, Robinson’s defense lawyer, said there was “a ton of evidence” leading up to and after the alleged incident, but nothing could prove what happened in the middle, per WHSV.
He also called out the prosecutor’s use of inmates to prove the middle ground and said the inmates’ credibility isn’t sustainable. For instance, one of the inmates had been convicted of fraud previously, the publication reports.
