Family of murdered, dismembered Wisconsin woman sues man accused of killing her
MILWAUKEE (CBS) -- The family of Sade Robinson, the Wisconsin woman who was dismembered and murdered, is now suing the man accused of the heinous crime for wrongful death and emotional distress.
Maxwell Anderson, 33, is accused of killing Robinson and spreading her remains around the Milwaukee area in April.
Verona Swanigan, the attorney for Robinson's family, announced the lawsuit on Tuesday.
"Think about if their child walked out the door today and they never saw that child again," and the next thing they hear is that remains of their child are popping up across the city," Swanigan said. "Pause and take close your eyes and imagine what that has to feel like."
Robinson was 19 when she was killed and dismembered.
Authorities said on Monday, April 1, Anderson and Robinson – who had connected on a dating app – met for a first date at the Twisted Fisherman seafood restaurant on West Canal Street in Milwaukee, according to CBS 58 in Milwaukee.
Investigators tracked Robinson's phone to find it traveled from Twisted Fisherman to the area of Duke's on Water in Milwaukee's Juneau Town neighborhood, then to the area of Anderson's home, and finally to the area of Warnimont Park along the lakefront near Cudahy, CBS 58 reported.
Robinson's 2020 Civic was found torched the next day, video showed Anderson leaving the scene where the burned car was found, prosecutors said. He was arrested two days later in a traffic stop by the Milwaukee County Sheriff's office, CBS 58 reported.
Prosecutors said Anderson mutilated Robinson's body, then dropped parts of her around the Milwaukee area. A leg severed at the hip was found by a passer-by down a bluff in Warnimont Park on the evening of April 2, and then a foot was found four days later near 31st and Galena streets in Milwaukee's Walnut Hill neighborhood, CBS 58 reported.
More remains were found in the weeks afterward. A torso and an arm were found at a remote stretch of tree-lined Lake Michigan beach in South Milwaukee on April 18, and later, an arm that is believed to be Robinson's washed up on the Waukegan Municipal Beach – 53 miles from Milwaukee.
Anderson is being held in jail on a $5 million bond.
Waukegan alderman censured over photo of severed arm
Meanwhile in Waukegan, the City Council censured an alderman in connection to the case. Ald. Keith Turner posted a graphic photo of the severed arm that is believed to be Robinson's.
Turner said the vote against him was politically motivated because he is running for mayor.