A 33-year-old man has been charged over the brutal murder of a Wisconsin pizza shop worker who was found dismembered after their first date.
Maxwell Anderson, a bartender who previously worked for his father’s insurance companies, appeared in court Friday after allegedly butchering 19-year-old Sade Robinson on April 1.
The long-haired accused murderer, who owns a criminal history including convictions for battery and domestic abuse, had taken Robinson – 14 years his junior – on a date at a seafood restaurant where he reportedly worked for a time.
A former high school football star, his employment history also includes work at two of his father’s insurance companies, who appeared to move to a $1.4 million Florida apartment around seven years ago while his son remained in Wisconsin.
Sade Robinson, 19, disappeared on April 1 after spending an evening on a first date in Milwaukee. Only her leg has been found, and cops ruled that evidence suggests she is deceased
Maxwell Anderson, 33, is accused of killing Robinson the night of their first date before dismembering her, going through ‘tremendous’ effort to cover up the alleged crime
Anderson is facing charges of murder, arson and mutilating a corpse, and came under suspicion after it emerged that he had met up with Robinson for a first date the night she vanished.
She was reported missing the day after when she failed to show up for work, which her manager Justin Romano told WDJT-TV ‘wasn’t like her at all.’
‘We kind of knew something was up, we had been calling her all day,’ he said.
The day after she disappeared, the Milwaukee Fire Department also responded to a vehicle fire, with investigators finding that it was Robinson’s Honda Civic that had been set ablaze.
Investigators were able to find pieces of Robinson’s ripped jeans and white shirt that she was wearing, alongside the singed remains of her phone.
That same day, cops were called to the discovery of a human leg at Warnimont Park, which was noted as having been ‘sawn off’ just below the hip.
The leg was ruled to have belonged to a black female, with pink nail polish still on the toes, and a DNA test found that it belonged to the 19-year-old.
More remains were found days later on April 5 and 7 around the city of Milwaukee, including a human foot and ‘what appeared to be human flesh’, cops said.
Body parts, including a leg confirmed as belonging to Robinson, were found at several locations around Milwaukee after her disappearance
Phone records found Robinson (pictured) had texted her date that she was ‘feeling seafood’ hours before she was last seen alive. Her phone was then tracked to Anderson’s home, and a park where her leg was found
Anderson had previously worked for two of his father’s insurance companies. He had recently been working as a bartender, where those that knew him said he had a ‘creepy’ and ‘weird vibe’
Anderson owns a criminal history including charges for battery and domestic abuse
The alleged killer (seen top right) was previously a star high school football player on his varsity team
An investigation of phone records zeroed in on the night Robinson disappeared, finding that she had initially been messaging Anderson about their date, where she told him she was ‘feeling seafood.’
Anderson used to work at the restaurant, and a bartender there said that he had originally arrived to pick up a W-2 form, but told others that he was staying for a first date.
The duo were seen dining at the restaurant in surveillance footage, and a location sharing app between Robinson and her mother showed that Robinson then went to a nearby sports bar and then to Anderson’s home in Milwaukee.
The phone next pinged in the park where the leg was discovered.
Detectives searched Anderson’s home on April 4, and found blood on a bed and walls leading towards his basement, according to the court filing against him.
Multiple gasoline canisters were found in the basement, and Anderson was arrested later that day during a traffic stop.
On Friday, cops said they were still investigating a motive for the alleged murder, and the rest of Robinson’s remains are unaccounted for.
Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney Ian Vance-Curzan added at a press conference that Anderson had gone to a ‘tremendous’ effort to remove any traces of Robinson.
‘The facts mentioned in this complaint cause Complainant to conclude that the Defendant intentionally killed and then dismembered Robinson with the intent to conceal the homicide, and it occurred between the arrival at the Defendant’s residence and his departure from the Warnimont Park area,’ the complaint concluded.
An investigation of Anderson’s home (pictured) found blood on a bed and walls leading towards his basement filled with gasoline canisters
Anderson’s father owned a lavish multi-million-dollar South Carolina home (pictured), before moving to a $1.4 million Florida apartment
Anderson filmed being arrested on April 4, following a search of his house
According to a GoFundMe, Robinson was set to graduate from Milwaukee Area Technical College and had ambitions to start a career in criminal justice.
Anderson, meanwhile, had described himself on social media as a bartender, however his past employers listed online are two insurance companies founded by his father.
He was reportedly listed as a manager in a New Berlin, Wisconsin branch of his father’s companies, Anderson’s Insurance Associates. He is also believed to have worked for his father’s other firm, Insurance Associates of America.
According to WMJ4 News, Anderson was a high school football player on the varsity team, and images from his playing days show him lining up on the JV Football team.
According to reports from his Facebook, which appears to have been deleted, Anderson wrote that he was a ‘former aviation electronics technician in the United States Navy’, however it is not clear if this is true.
It is not clear how long he worked at his father’s business, but recently friends said he had been working at Victor’s Nightclub in Milwaukee.
A former coworker of Anderson’s, Samantha Brenner, told FOX6 that she knew him to be an ‘erratic’ person.
‘He would get very drunk at work, and his behavior a little erratic, but nothing – truly nothing – that really sparked a red flag,’ she said.
Robinson was last seen alive in surveillance footage having dinner at a seafood restaurant, and her phone pinged to a nearby sports bar on the night she vanished
Tributes have poured in for the 19-year-old, described as ‘a loving daughter, a cherished sister, and a dear friend’ who was pursuing a career in criminal justice
Maxwell Anderson talks to his lawyer at a hearing on Friday, where he is charged with killing and dismembering Robinson
Another former close friend of Anderson’s added that when he visited his home in June 2023, he was shocked to also find the accused killer had dug a ‘massive hole’ in his backyard.
‘He said he was building this underground basement,’ the friend, who remained anonymous, told Heavy.com.
He said the hole was ‘probably 5-foot-long by 6-foot-deep’, and said he was left confused because Anderson already had a ‘big basement anyway’ – but added that he was known for strange antics.
Describing Anderson as ‘very childish’, he said the bartender ‘did have an anger management temper thing. Like he would flip out over simple things.’
‘He gives off a weird vibe,’ he continued. ‘You feel uneasy around him. At first, I didn’t like him; I got a creepy weirdo type of vibe.’
His criminal history in Wisconsin includes a conviction for second offense drunk driving in 2022, and in 2019 was convicted of disorderly conduct.
In 2015, he was also convicted of disorderly conduct, domestic abuse, criminal damage to property, and intimidating a witness, reports Heavy.
In that case, it was reported by the Journal Sentinel that he erupted when a ‘relative suggested he seek out mental health treatment.’
‘Anderson smashed a glass, punched a hole in a wall and grabbed a phone out of the hand of another relative who was trying to call police,’ a reported filing against him stated.
Robinson’s mother Sheena Scarborough (left) seen after Anderson was charged. She described her daughter as an ‘angel’ who had ‘her whole life ahead of her’
Anderson seen in a previous mugshot. He has past convictions for disorderly conduct, battery and domestic abuse
Tributes have poured in for Robinson, who was described in the GoFundMe as ‘a loving daughter, a cherished sister, and a dear friend’ who was pursuing a career in criminal justice.
‘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 read.
Robinson’s mother Sheena Scarborough added to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: ‘Her whole life was so ahead of her, she was so, so amazing. So beautiful, such a beautiful angel. Everywhere she went, people just admired my baby.’