Man Sentenced for 'Evil and Heartless' Death and Dismemberment of Date Maintains Innocence

Maxwell Anderson, 34, used his opportunity to speak during his sentencing on Friday for the alleged murder and dismemberment of Sade Robinson, 19, to proclaim his innocence, as detailed by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

"I offer my deepest and most sincere condolences to Sade’s family as well as everyone else affected by this tragedy," he said. "That being said, your honor, I took this to trial without ever once trying to make a plea deal of any kind … because I did not commit these crimes."

After proclaiming his plans to appeal, Anderson added, "While I hope and pray that further investigation will not only prove my innocence but also find and deliver true justice."

His comments came as Circuit Judge Laura Crivello sentenced him to life without the possibility of parole. "It's definitely at the top of some of the worst homicides I've seen in this court," she said.

Anderson also endured harsh words from the district attorney and family members of his alleged victim during his sentencing.

"My daughter had to cross his demonic path. He plotted and planned to kill her," said Robinson's mother, Sheena Scarbrough, per the Journal Sentinel.

On June 6, Anderson was convicted of first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse, arson, and hiding a corpse.

Scarbough spoke directly to Anderson, per Fox affiliate WITI, telling him,"My daughter referred to you as a man. You will never be a f--king man, you're a p---y a-- b---h."

"You can no longer hurt my baby. She’s in heaven. She’s protected," she continued. "When you touched my daughter, you f--ked with the wrong family. You should have never touched my daughter."

The victim's father, Carlos Robinson, called his daughter "amazing" and said, "She lit up every room she went in."

"People lose their children. That’s sometimes part of life," he continued. "But to lose your child in this manner … there’s no therapy, no kind of treatments for that."

Meanwhile, her 16-year-old sister said that Anderson "stole Sade’s chance to be an adult. He stole my ability to have the momentary ability to experience happiness. He’s made it to where holidays are about mourning instead of celebrating."

"I cannot meet any person without the fear that they're going to harm or kill me because all my sister did was meet someone and, as a result, he ended her life," she added, per WITI.

Assistant District Attorney Ian Vance-Curzan said of Robinson, "Sade was a completely innocent victim who died alone in an unfamiliar place. He tried to make her disappear from the world. It was simply evil and heartless behavior."

"You plotted and planned to kill, dismember then you disrespectfully spread my daughter across Milwaukee like a piece of trash," said Scarbrough in court, per ABC affiliate WISN. "How dare you?"

The death of Sade Robinson allegedly began when she and Anderson met at a bar in March 2024 -- a week before her actual death. Then, on April 1, 2024, the pair agreed to meet up at Menomonee Valley bar. She had agreed to meet Anderson there. It was the last time she was seen or heard from, per police.

Surveillance video and cell phone records appear to place the pair together on the afternoon and evening of that day as they purportedly visited two bars before making their way back to Anderson's apartment, as detailed by People.

Investigators found photos of Anderson appearing to grope Robinson as she was lying face down on his couch, with prosecutors arguing that she was incapacitated in these images per the Associated Press.

There is also video footage of Robinson's vehicle leaving Anderson's apartment on April 2, arriving at a park near Lake Michigan. Prosecutors during trial argued that they believed this is where Anderson allegedly cut up her body.

The following day, Robinson's burned-out car was found behind an abandoned building, while surveillance footage showed a man walking away from the vehicle. Investigators believe the man in the video was Anderson, who was also spotted in later surveillance video catching a bus back to his home.

Parts of Robinson were found scattered in different areas around Milwaukee, per CNN, including one leg found by a walker in Warnimont Park. Her other leg was found near a playground close to where her car was found. An arm and torso believed to have belonged to Robinson later washed up on a beach in South Milwaukee. Her head has not been recovered.

According to court documents, the death of Robinson was not a spontaneous decision, either, as a "confidential informant" alleged that Anderson had plotted the killing weeks before her death, sharing a detailed plan.

Robinson was just weeks from getting her criminal justice degree when she died.

In addition to the life sentence without the possibility of parole for first-degree intentional homicide, Anderson was also sentenced to 7 1/2 years o the dismemberment count and 1 1/2 years on the arson charge. The hiding a corpse charge was dismissed after it was argued in court that he couldn't be convicted of both that and mutilating and hiding a corpse.