Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - TEEN GIRL "EXCITED" FOR DATE: SADE'S LAST MOMENTS IN UNDERGROUND DUNGEON?

Episode Date: May 9, 2024

As volunteer searchers try to locate all of teen girl Sade Robinson’s remains, a gruesome discovery... this time, at a remote, tree-lined stretch of beach along Lake Michigan. Just after 7:30 a.m., someone walking along a South Milwaukee water line discovered an arm and torso. The remains washed ashore about a quarter mile away from a nearby apartment complex. Residents watched as officers carried a body bag down the cliff to recover an arm and torso. Sade's father has joined in the search for his daughter's remains.  We have also learned that inside the unfinished basement that police have called a “sex dungeon,” it’s in disarray. A large hole has been dug in the concrete floor. A drain in the floor is stuffed with towels, the drain cover is marked with evidence numbers. A door without a handle leads to a dark closet with several tables, a chair, and exercise equipment. The mattress of a queen bedframe is flipped on its side, and bedding is tossed over a table in the corner of the room.   A circle saw, hack saw, and a power drill were also recovered from Anderson’s backyard.  Joining Nancy Grace Today: Carlos Robinson - Sade's Dad Eric Faddis – Partner at Varner Faddis Elite Legal, Former Felony Prosecutor and Current Criminal Defense and Civil Litigation Attorney; Instagram: @e_fad @varnerfaddis; TikTok: @varnerfaddis Scott Johnson – Forensic Psychologist (Minnesota): 32 years specializing in addressing sexual predators Dr. Kendall Crowns – Chief Medical Examiner Tarrant County (Ft Worth) and Lecturer: University of Texas Austin and Texas Christian University Medical School Bria Jones - Reporter, Fox6 News – Milwaukee; X: @BriaJonesTV Facebook: Bria Jones TV   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Breaking news tonight, teen girl Sade Robinson tells friends she's excited about her first date with the son of a Milwaukee millionaire, but did her so-called date lure the college co-ed onto a date turned murder? Tonight, inside the underground torture dungeon in the murder suspect's home, where a hacksaw, a circle saw, and a power drill are discovered. Is that where Sade spent her very last moments alive? And if so, what evidence does it reveal? Good evening. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us.

Footage from inside the unfinished basement that police have called a sex dungeon shows it's in disarray. A large hole has been dug in the concrete floor. A drain in the floor is stuffed with towels. The drain cover marked with evidence numbers. A door without a handle leads to a dark closet and there are several tables, a chair and exercise equipment. The mattress of a queen bed frame is flipped on its side and bedding is tossed over a table in the corner of the room. You are seeing footage that we have managed to obtain of the underground torture chamber, as it has been described,

but there is more, more than what you're seeing. From a hacksaw to a circular saw to a power drill, a grave dug in the backyard, various sex paraphernalia all found in this underground bunker belonging to the son of a Milwaukee millionaire. We also learn that he was in fact digging another underground lair. What, if anything, will this reveal? Joining me, an all-star panel to make sense of what we are learning at this hour and how that translates to probative evidence, evidence that proves something at trial. But before I go into evidence, I want to welcome a very special guest joining us. We have heard from Sade's mother. She has joined us several times. Joining us now is Sade's father,

Mr. Carlos Robinson. Mr. Robinson, thank you for being with us. Yes, you're welcome. Mr. Robinson, when did you learn that Sade had been killed? Oh, for sure. When the DNA came back as a match to mine, when she was missing, I was hopeful that she was still here. Up until that point, did you believe that she was just missing, that she would be found? Yes, that's what I was praying for, that she would be found, that the body parts wasn't hers, and that she was going to be found. Joining me is Sade's father, Carlos Robinson. Mr. Robinson, there was a moment where a volunteer,

not police, but a volunteer discovered, as it's being called, a pet tribute blanket. A lot of people have them. We have one of a little pet of Sade's. And it was found wet and dirty and filthy in a park area, a park for children area, and nearby were human body parts. When you heard her blanket, her little pet tribute blanket had been found, what went through your mind?

All of this is incomprehensible. You know, I don't understand how the community, and I appreciate everything that they're doing, how they can find a blanket that was already searched by, an area that was already searched by an area that was already searched by the authorities. Was it, Mr. Robinson? Had that area been thoroughly searched by authorities?

Because it's my understanding volunteers found body parts as well. Yeah, I talked to the police after the blanket was found. And I asked them why they didn't find it because they told me they searched that area previously. So

I don't know how they searched it and didn't see that. I don't know if it's limited resources or what. It's just, I don't feel like it's a lot of real effort being put trying to find her um i've been here uh since uh 11 o'clock last night i haven't been to sleep i've been to the parts i've been all over uh with flashlights um binoculars um i just don't feel like i could sleep i just need to i just want to find it you know um but i i don't i don't feel like I can sleep. I just want to find her. But I don't feel like it's an effort that this should be.

I don't feel like they're doing the effort that they need to do to find her. Using the resources, whatever they have to do to find my baby girl. Mr. Robinson, what are you looking for? Well, I keep... There's only two body parts left that we haven't found. And I just want to put her to rest

properly. I keep having dreams about it. So I just want her to at least rest in peace and I can't can't do that until I have her together they won't even let me see the body parts they have because he said his evidence So I'm just trying to do what I can do to find it. Hopefully she leads me to it. Mr. Robinson, I just thank you so much for speaking with us today because I know your heart is breaking and you have been looking through the night out with a flashlight trying to find your daughter, her body parts.

You know, I think the closest person in the world to me ever was my dad, Mac. Tell me about Sade in life. My baby girl was an amazing person. Tell me about Sade in life. to give you the shirt off her back. She had a very good heart. She was intelligent. She was a good person to build on. She had so much potential. We talked a lot about, you know, our future and what she wanted to do and where she wanted to go. But I told her the words, her oyster. She makes that decision. I let nobody make her feel. Mr. Robinson,

what did she want to be when she got out of college? What did she want to do? Her goal was to be a lawyer, ultimately. She was graduating from criminal justice. But she was torn between military and being a lawyer, but she always wanted to be a lawyer. So I think she was more leaning towards that than military. Mr. Robinson, my brother and my sister and I were first generation college graduates. And I think that was one of the proudest moments of my father's life. When we graduated from college, how proud of this girl, this beautiful girl, Sade. How proud of her were you going to college, paying her way, working that I'm doing this or I'm doing that.

She had, and that was just what she was doing was just the tip of her potential. She could be anything she wants. She could have been the president she wanted to be. She really had that potential. Would she tell you on the phone that she loved you? Yes. Yeah. We always loved each other. She always knew she could call me. Mr. Robinson, you stated that two she was, quote, excited about her date with this Milwaukee millionaire's son, what goes through your mind? None of it makes sense to me.

She did not, this guy was not her type at all oh man her mom talked about it we don't understand it I don't know how he got her to come to his house but that's not something I could see my daughter doing, especially with somebody she didn't know. My daughter was attracted to people that, because when she first wanted to date, she would tell me, dad, I found this guy. I like this guy and this guy, he reminds me of you.

He's very protective of me. You know, things like that was the quality she looked for. And this guy has one of these qualities. So I just don't, that dynamic don't match up. Mr. Robinson, we are learning about this guy, underground torture chamber. What goes through your mind when you hear about that? I think my father would just lay down on the ground and cry. Well, one of the questions I asked in the beginning to the officers was, did this happen post-mortem, but still be, to do, it takes a different kind of evil to do something like this.

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Sade Robinson, a teen girl thrilled about her first date with the son of a Milwaukee millionaire. Murdered and dismembered, not sure in what order. Her dad is out alone with a flashlight looking for Sade's head and arm. Where are the police? Where are the cadaver dogs? Why is Mr. Robinson out with a flashlight trying to find his daughter's remains saying that his brother, sister, and nephew are going to join him? Can you even imagine your father out with a flashlight looking for your remains? What this family has been through. This as we are learning about an underground torture chamber, including a hacksaw, a circle saw, a power drill. Joining me,

Bria Jones, investigative reporter, Fox 6 News Milwaukee. Bria, thank you for being with us. The video we obtained of the basement, as some people would call it, but it was set up to be a sex and torture chamber. There's really no question about that. What do you know, Bria? Well, Nancy, this is my first time seeing that video. I can tell you that we have spoken with someone who knows Maxwell Anderson, saying that they were friends. They told us that they actually have been to that home. They described the home to us as messy.

That woman that we spoke with said that she's been over there several times. And Maxwell Anderson was a friend. Right now, there is just a lot of contention surrounding that home. The first two weeks after Sade disappeared and then was found dismembered, people constantly were going to the home. Every single day we saw Milwaukee police officers actually outside of that home because people were, of course, curious, trying to go behind the home, taking pictures, taking videos. They're also furious that they believe that family members are actually allowed to go inside of the home to clean and clear things out. But again, the sheriff's office addressing all those issues on Friday, they sent out a statement saying that they are not stopping their search. They are continuing the search. They also said that if the home is sold, that will not impact their

investigation. They also said that no one has been allowed to inappropriately enter the home since it became a crime scene. What more do we know about the so-called sex and torture dungeon? Was this where teen girl Shidae spent her last moments alive? Listen. Maxwell Anderson had a sex dungeon in the basement of his West Milwaukee home, according to a law enforcement source. Cops found a sex sling, restraints, and handcuffs. A close friend of Anderson's said that on a visit to Anderson's home last year, he noticed a large hole in the ground that was about five feet long by six foot deep. Anderson said he was working on an underground basement despite having

a large basement in the home already. Neighbors say the basement in the home had small windows that were always covered so you could not see inside. Joining me, an all-star panel, but first to Scott Johnson, forensic psychologist, author of Physical Abusers and Sex offenders, forensic considerations and strategies. Scott, thank you for being with us. What grown man continues to build underground lairs? He's got one basement full of sex slings, restraints, handcuffs, circular saws, hacksaws, power drills. He's got a grave dug in the backyard, yet he's building another underground lair. What is that? Right. He sounds like a sexual sadist. So he's progressing. He's finding new space to torture, dismember people. I mean, that would be the working theory is that he's simply expanding on his perversion to

torture, hurt, rape and kill people. Eric Faddis, you're a high profile trial lawyer, TV analyst, partner at Varner Faddis Elite Legal. Eric, that's not going to look good on an overhead projector in front of a jury. Think about it. A dark courtroom. The prosecutor turns on that video I just played and we find all about sex slings, restraints, handcuffs, circular saws, hacksaws, power drills, a grave in the backyard, unknown mystery blood around and throughout the defendant's home and his zeal to dig yet another underground lair. What do you do with that, Faddis? Yeah, Nancy, I mean, I'm a seasoned criminal law attorney, former felony prosecutor, and I shudder when I'm hearing you describe these things. I shudder to myself

as to the depravity that appears to be going on in Maxwell Anderson's basement. And so, you know, when the jury hears about these inflammatory discoveries that we're hearing about week after week, it's just the case is building. I think the walls are really coming in for Maxwell Anderson. And from a legal standpoint, it's looking very bad. Eric Faddis, are you familiar with the program The Office? I am. Oh, OK. Do you remember when Michael always says what she said? Remember that? That's what you just did.

I just said how horrible this is going to be in front of a jury. You're the defense lawyer. What do you do with it? Try to get it thrown out? Argue there's no foundation for the video? What? What can you argue? Yes, he's a perverted sex sadist, which means you like to inflict pain on other people, but not a killer. He's just your average run-of-the-mill friendly neighborhood sex sadist. Is that where you're going? You know, from a criminal defense perspective, this is certainly a challenge. One thing that the government has not yet established is exactly the cause of death, how Sade Robinson perished. And so I could just foresee the criminal defense team

spinning up something saying like, hey, there may have been an accident that took place, but Max Lennison didn't kill her. He tried to cover up what happened afterwards. And I'm just wondering if that's the avenue that the defense might try to travel on this case. Oh, dear Lord in heaven. You know what? Satan just came out of your mouth. Yeah, that's exactly where they're going. You're right, Faddis. Okay. Dr. Kendall Crowns is joining me, Chief Medical Examiner, Tarrant County Lecturer, Burnett School of Medicine at Texas Christian University. Dr. Kendall Crowns, you have performed around 10,000 autopsies, you think, maybe more. Dr. Crowns, how can you, a medical examiner, look at the cuts, the severances on her body? We know her father has just told us that he is still looking for Sade's

head and one of her arms. I don't know how the man even had the strength to even say that. But you, Dr. Crowns, can you look under a microscope at the the cut wounds on her torso, her neck, her legs, and tell me whether she was dismembered post-mortem or in life? So the answer to that is yes. You can look at the wounds themselves. You don't have to look at them microscopically. Actually, when you look at the wound at autopsy,

if there's hemorrhage or blood in the wound itself, you know there's a vital reaction to the cut or the stab, if you will, and you know that the heart was still beating at that time period. If the cut itself, it looks kind of dry and yellow, that's a dismemberment cut that occurred postmortemly or after death. So really what you're looking for is hemorrhage in the tissue or blood in the tissue that shows there was still a beating heart. Joining me in All-Star panel as we delve into potential probative evidence that is now being discovered in a so-called underground torture chamber, very disturbing to think that this young girl, Sade Robinson, spent her last moments on this earth, her last moments alive there in this confused basement, torture chamber full of sex paraphernalia, power saw, hacksaw, power drills.

Was this the last thing she saw? Eric Faddis, trial lawyer, former prosecutor, what evidence would you be searching for right now? I would grab and bag every single implement I found. The hacksaw, the circle saw, the power drill, you name it, a hammer, everything to look for microscopic evidence of blood. We know blood is found in the home. So far, it has not matched Sade, which begs the question, whose is it? Is there another victim? But what evidence are we looking for in that torture chamber? Yeah, Nancy, I think you're spot on to look at every single tool, every single instrument that, you know, maybe on its own might be innocuous, but when viewed together with the context of the sex dungeon could be very incriminating. So yes, seizing all of

those tools. And then also I would ask the neighbors whether they've heard any sort of drilling or sawing or power tools going on, because those things are audible. Those things make noise. And perhaps Maxwell Anderson tried to muffle them. But I'm just wondering what the neighbors have heard over the course of the past months or years that could contribute to this investigation. Well, we know, Eric Faddis, that the son of the millionaire, now suspect number one, and by the way, he's got a $5 million bond.

Maxwell Anderson had the upper level windows in the basement all covered up so neighbors couldn't see in there. And I wonder, you know, if you look at the house and neighbors are far enough away, I wonder if they could hear anything. When you look at this house, it's certainly deceiving. It's neatly kept with the walkway, the perfectly clean, pristine walkway. The lawn is perfectly manicured. The home has this front porch on it in the shade with a chair. It's very inviting. Wow, Scott Johnson, looks can be deceiving, can't they? They sure can. And, you know, most sadists are going to have that outer appearance of normal and tranquility and getting along with everybody. And it's what goes on inside.

No different than with domestic abuse. You like the people, but what happens behind closed doors? Another story. Let's take a look at the outside again, because Scott Johnson, forensic psychologist and author of Physical Abusers and Sex Offenders, Forensic Considerations and Strategies. Scott, look, it's almost anal compulsively clean. I mean, there's the neatness is over the top. Every, I mean, look at that tree on the right. It's pruned into a perfect triangle. The lawn is mowed in perfect lines, but in his sex dungeon, everything is in disarray. You see a mind in disarray, which tells me a lot. Right. And obsessive compulsiveness is very common with sadists especially. However, as he's working out his perversion of what he's trying to do and his fantasies trying to bring

them to reality, very little usually goes right. And that's the discombobulation that as he's trying to get everything right for how many people has he already killed, right? Not likely the first here. And therefore he's trying to make amends for what didn't go right. So building the second basement and things in disarray, because fantasy is just not coming to reality as much as he would like it to be with his obsessive compulsiveness. Scott, what does a mind in disarray tell me? And the dichotomy of the compulsively neat exterior to the massive disarray inside.

Gosh, that could be a case study for you. Well, yes and no, because again, the obsessive compulsiveness for the outside is black and white. You mow the lawn, you trim the tree. But the obsessive compulsiveness for the murders, torture, rape, dismemberment, those things just don't come perfect. And so as you're trying to make them perfect, you make a lot of mistakes. Things get disarrayed. And also the mind gets more cluttered and frustrated, which leads to more mistakes and more disarray.

But trying to get it right is what the sadist is always trying to do. To Dr. Kendall Crowns, Chief Medical Examiner, Tarrant County and lecturer at TCU, Dr. Crowns, can they, or hypothetically could, the hacksaw, the circular saw, or the power drill be matched up to the cuts, the very deep cuts used to dismember Sade. Can you match up the tool to tool markings on her body? Yes, actually, usually it's on the bone. The saws will leave specific marks on the bone that can be matched up to the little teeth on the saw. The drill itself could be used and you could look for drill-type injuries on the bones as well that can match to the drill bit. I'm coming here today.

This is the hardest thing I would ever have to do in my life to speak Sade's voice. Sade was a beautiful soul. She was an amazing girl. Nancy, everything you spoke was exactly what my daughter exerted. I couldn't have asked for any better daughter. There was things my daughter did that many adults were not even able to accomplish in their lifetimes. The son of a took my daughter from me. You are hearing Sade's mother speak through her tears about the search for Sade. Her father has told us he is still searching into the night with a flashlight along with his sister, his brother, his nephew for this beautiful girl's head. Why are

they out there alone searching? Where is law enforcement? Where are the cadets shoulder to shoulder looking for this beautiful co-ed's remains? That's just one question I've got. We now know a water search has turned up nothing. Listen. In an update from the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office, deputies reiterated that despite two unsuccessful water searches for Robinson's remains, the investigation has not slowed down. Investigators are searching for evidence and fielding tips on a daily basis while continuing to look for Robinson's remains. MCSO also cleared up claims that Anderson had been released from custody, stating that Anderson has been behind bars since his arrest on April 4th. Joining me, Bria Jones, investigative reporter, Fox News 6. Bria, again, thank you for being with us.

What can you tell me about those water searches and are they ongoing? Will there be another water search? I'm curious, Bria, because we know that some of Sade's body parts seemingly washed up along shore. And when you don't know a horse, you look at his track record. If he threw some of Sade's remains into the water, could that be where her head and arm are as well? That's right, Nancy. I think that's the big question right now. Where is Sade? Sade's birthday is actually May 10th. That's when her family plans to have her memorial here in Milwaukee. So that's why now her father is here

desperately searching for her head and her arm. Every single day, her family members have been seeming to be leading these searches. Again, as you mentioned, and you said time and time again, we've not really seen much law enforcement continuing their search. However, they say they are searching, but right now it appears that it's the family, it's the nonprofits. They're asking for volunteers. They're asking for waiters. They're asking the public constantly for supplies because they're going out daily and searching the water. Again, law enforcement is saying that they are also searching.

We saw some evidence of those searches last week. However, it's the family that's on the boots, boots on the ground daily doing their searches. Well, I know they say that they're continuing to search, but that is not what I'm hearing from Mr. Robinson. He's out with a flashlight searching. And I know my father would be doing the very same thing. Another technical forensic issue has arisen. The potential that there are more bodies, that there is more than one victim. Listen. In Maxwell Anderson's home, police discovered gas cans in the garage and blood in several areas, including on bedding and the wall of a stairwell leading to the basement. After initial DNA tests, an amended probable cause affidavit reveals that the blood is not a match to Sade Robinson. Authorities have not made any indication of who the blood belongs to, possibly another victim or Anderson himself.

Dr. Kendall Crowns joining us, Chief Medical Exam work several spree killings, including being on the scene at the Fulton County Courthouse shooting where multiple victims were killed. Prior to that, I handled multiple victim murders in various locations, including outside. Question to you, Dr. Crowns, when you process the scene where more than one person has been murdered, that's a whole another trick. When you're trying to determine multiple DNA, various blood types, various fingerprints, various hair. I'm wondering if there's going to be hair, blood, fingerprints on those power tools. How do you, now that we know there's blood from another person in that home, how do you go about processing a scene like this? So in this particular case or in that situation that you're describing, you would have to document each item, take swabs of

all the items and then give them each individual numbers and then start going through the process of identifying the DNA, seeing if there's matches, seeing if there's matches with missing persons. It can be a very lengthy, tedious process because there can be so many specimens that are available in a scene such as that. Bria Jones joining us, investigative reporter of Fox 6 News. Bria Jones, it's my understanding that the suspect who maintains his innocence, that the suspect's family has gone into the home. Is that true? Well, Nancy, what I can tell you is that that's what Sade's family is saying, that some of them have publicly shared videos and pictures of people that have been going in

and around the home. The sheriff's office, again, saying that people, if they have been allowed to enter the home, that they were not allowed to do so inappropriately. They also doubled down that this would not impact or affect the investigation in any way. But we have seen, again, trash bags outside of the home after people were seen near it. And, of course, if the suspect's family members are going in there, such as his mom or dad, they may know things that we don't know, like that he kept a diary and where it might be. There's just a plethora of items that could be of value to this case. But of course, law enforcement says they've searched it and they are allowing people in.

I don't know how it strikes you, but it doesn't strike me very well. Scott Johnson, forensic psychologist. I think I would be looking now also to the suspect's online activity, possibly being a member of chat rooms, dating websites, how he portrayed himself. What do you think about that, Avenue? Oh, absolutely. There's likely searches that he's done online, communications he's had, and sadists and others may communicate with each other, just, you know, shooting the crap in their mind, but discussing crimes. And certainly, again, any communication they've had with family and what does family know. And, you know, again, it's concerning that the house is not yet secured because as more information may come about, you know, what are we missing from the house?

Are family members involved? Sadists or psychopaths, that's a genetic issue. Are other family members involved in this? So that would also be another avenue we'd want to look at. What the hell do they know? All I can think about right now is Sade's father. He is outmanned with the flashlight with his brother and his sister and his nephew looking for his daughter's head and her arm. Our prayers with him. We are stopping now to remember an American hero,

Investigator Samuel Peloche, Charlotte, North Carolina. This upstanding investigator gunned down while serving an arrest warrant, Charlotte, a 14-year veteran of the Adult Correction Institute. Investigator Peloche leaves behind a grieving wife, Cielo, and two children, Samuel and Gavin, American hero, investigator Samuel Pellice. Thank you to our guests for being with us tonight. A special thank you to all of you joining us here, seeking justice for Sade. I'm Nancy Grace signing off. Good night, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.