A Milwaukee resident, Maxwell Anderson, has been sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole after being found guilty of killing and dismembering 19-year-old Sade Robinson during their first date.
The sentencing, delivered Friday, marked a harrowing conclusion to a case that gripped the city.
Anderson was convicted in June on multiple charges, including first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse, arson, and hiding a corpse.
Despite his repeated claims of innocence throughout the proceedings, a jury determined he was responsible for a crime that deeply unsettled the local community.
During a sentencing hearing filled with raw emotion, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Laura Crivello questioned how Anderson could carry out such a horrific act.
Prosecutors described how he dismembered Robinson and left parts of her body in various public areas, including near a playground.
Robinson’s mother, Sheena Scarbrough, pleaded with the court to ensure Anderson received no leniency.
“Judge, I’m asking this demon be respectfully returned back to hell as soon as possible,” Scarbrough said.
Her father, Carlos Robinson, expressed profound grief and anger, demanding a punishment that reflected the brutality of the crime.
“Everything that he did should be done to him,” he said. “No man should be able to live after what he did. That’s just how I feel. I can’t get past this. I can’t.”
Under Wisconsin law, a first-degree intentional homicide conviction carries a mandatory life sentence. The court’s only consideration was whether Anderson would ever be eligible for parole.
His attorney, Tony Cotton, argued for parole eligibility after 25 years, citing Anderson’s military service in the U.S. Navy and his ongoing mental health issues. Cotton also acknowledged prior misdemeanor domestic violence charges but argued they were minor in comparison to the case at hand.
“That is a real consideration,” Cotton said. “At the end of the day, there is not mob justice in this country.”
Judge Crivello denied the request, describing the crime as irredeemable.
“It’s beyond imaginable to not know whether your child is dead or alive, and then learn they’re dismembered and disgraced, is beyond understanding,” she said.
She added that Anderson’s perception of reality appeared severely distorted, stating his actions resembled something “out of a horror novel.”
The court imposed additional sentences of 7½ years for mutilating a corpse and 1½ years for arson. A charge of hiding a corpse was dismissed after the defense argued it could not be applied concurrently with the mutilation charge involving the same victim.
Throughout the trial and sentencing, Anderson maintained that he was not responsible for Robinson’s death and indicated he intends to appeal the conviction.
“I hope true justice will be delivered,” he said Friday.
According to court testimony, Anderson once told an investigator that Robinson might have been abducted by someone else after leaving his apartment.
Robinson, a student at Milwaukee Area Technical College, had met Anderson at a bar in March 2024. Surveillance footage and digital evidence showed the pair visited two bars on the evening of April 1 before going to Anderson’s apartment.
Images recovered from Anderson’s phone showed him groping Robinson as she lay face down on his couch. Prosecutors argued she was incapacitated and unable to give consent.
Later surveillance footage captured Robinson’s vehicle leaving Anderson’s home and arriving at a park along Lake Michigan. Investigators believe that is where the dismemberment occurred.
Anderson then allegedly set Robinson’s car on fire near an abandoned building and returned home via public transportation. Over time, authorities recovered body parts from several locations, including parks and playgrounds. Robinson’s torso and arm were found along the South Milwaukee shoreline, but her head remains missing.
The case has left a lasting impact on Robinson’s family and the Milwaukee community, prompting calls for justice that reach beyond the courtroom.
