A Milwaukee man convicted of murdering 19-year-old college student Sade Robinson during their first date and scattering her dismembered remains was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Maxwell Anderson was found guilty in June of first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse, arson, and hiding a corpse in connection with Robinson’s 2024 death. Throughout the trial, he continued to insist on his innocence.
Emotional Sentencing Hearing
During the emotional and at times harrowing sentencing hearing, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Laura Crivello expressed disbelief over the brutality of Anderson’s actions. Prosecutors detailed how Anderson dismembered Robinson’s body, dumping one of her legs in a local playground.
Robinson’s mother, Sheena Scarborough, addressed the court with raw emotion, stating that Anderson’s actions devastated not just her family but the entire community.
“Judge, I’m asking this demon be respectfully returned back to hell as soon as possible,” she said.
Her father, Carlos Robinson, echoed her anguish.
“Everything he did should be done to him,” he told the court. “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.”
No Chance for Parole
Under Wisconsin law, first-degree intentional homicide carries a mandatory life sentence. The only remaining question for the court was whether Anderson would be eligible for parole.
His attorney, Tony Cotton, requested parole eligibility after 25 years, citing Anderson’s military service in the U.S. Navy and mental health struggles. He also raised concerns for Anderson’s safety in prison.
“At the end of the day, there is not mob justice in this country,” Cotton said.
But Judge Crivello denied any possibility of parole, rejecting Anderson’s claims of innocence and describing his view of reality as deeply distorted.
“This case is something out of a horror novel,” Crivello said, calling the crimes “unconscionable” and Anderson “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 added.
In addition to the life sentence, Crivello imposed an extra 7½ years for mutilating a corpse and 1½ years for arson. She dismissed the charge of hiding a corpse after a defense argument that a person cannot be convicted of both hiding and mutilating the same body.
The Night of the Murder
Anderson and Robinson met at a bar in March 2024. Surveillance footage, text messages, and tracking data revealed they spent the evening of April 1 drinking at two bars before returning to Anderson’s apartment.
Photos recovered from Anderson’s phone showed him groping Robinson while she was lying face-down on his couch. Prosecutors believe she was incapacitated and unable to defend herself.
Surveillance video later captured Robinson’s car leaving Anderson’s residence early on April 2 and arriving at a park along Lake Michigan. Investigators say that’s where Anderson dismembered her body. He then burned her car behind an abandoned building and took a bus home.
Anderson, still claiming innocence, told the judge he plans to appeal. He offered no further details, though earlier he had suggested a stranger may have abducted Robinson after she left his apartment.
“I hope true justice will be delivered,” he said.
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