File:Sade Memorial 1.jpg — Credit: Praiawart · CC BY 4.0
Sade Carleena Robinson, a 19-year-old college student, was reported missing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on April 2, 2024. She had recently been seen on a date with 33-year-old Maxwell Steven Anderson at a seafood restaurant where he had previously worked. Later on April 2, a severed human leg was found in a nearby park; preliminary DNA testing determined it belonged to Robinson.
Anderson, a longtime Waukesha County resident who had lived in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, for most of his life, was arrested on April 4, 2024, and formally charged on April 12, 2024, with first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse, and arson. He had briefly served in the United States Navy from April 2011 to January 2012; the circumstances of his discharge remain unclear. In the years before Robinson's death he worked as a bartender at several Milwaukee establishments, and he had a prior criminal record in Waukesha and Door counties between 2014 and 2022 that included domestic abuse, drunk driving, and disorderly conduct. When investigators searched Anderson's home, they found blood on the walls; testing determined the blood was not Robinson's and was later confirmed to be canine.
Additional remains were recovered in the weeks that followed. On April 18, 2024, a passerby walking along a Lake Michigan beach found a torso and an arm, both later confirmed to be Robinson's. In May 2024, a human arm was discovered along the shoreline at Waukegan Municipal Beach and was also confirmed to be hers. Anderson's motive for killing Robinson remains unknown.
On June 6, 2025, a jury found Anderson guilty on all counts. He was sentenced to life in prison on August 1, 2025, and is incarcerated at Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun, Wisconsin.
The case drew a significant community response in Milwaukee. Several dozen residents gathered on Anderson's front lawn and turned it into a memorial for Robinson with balloons, posters, flowers, and stuffed animals. In September 2024, a mural of Robinson was painted near the entrance of Pizza Shuttle, a Milwaukee restaurant where she had worked, and Sade's Voice Foundation was founded in response to the case.
Robinson is killed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; her death is reported as having occurred on April 1 or 2, 2024.
2024-04-02
Robinson is reported missing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
2024-04-02
A severed human leg is found in a nearby park; preliminary DNA testing determines it belongs to Robinson.
2024-04-04
Maxwell Steven Anderson is arrested.
2024-04-12
Anderson is formally charged with first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse, and arson.
2024-04-18
A passerby finds a torso and an arm along a Lake Michigan beach; both are later confirmed to be Robinson's.
2024-05
A human arm is found along the shoreline at Waukegan Municipal Beach and is confirmed to be Robinson's.
2024-09
A mural of Robinson is painted near the entrance of Pizza Shuttle, a Milwaukee restaurant where she had worked.
2025-06-06
A jury finds Anderson guilty on all counts.
2025-08-01
Anderson is sentenced to life in prison.
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Titles and descriptions are the creators’ own and may not reflect current legal status; see the dossier above for sourced case facts.
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Sneak peek: Sade Robinson and The Secret Beach
People
Sade Robinson
VICTIM
19-year-old college student who was reported missing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on April 2, 2024, before her dismembered remains were recovered from multiple locations over the following weeks.
Maxwell Steven Anderson
CONVICTED
33-year-old Waukesha County resident charged with first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse, and arson; found guilty on all counts by a jury on June 6, 2025, and sentenced to life in prison on August 1, 2025.
Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.
Sade Robinson, a 19-year-old Milwaukee college student, was reported missing on April 2, 2024, and her dismembered remains were recovered from multiple locations over the following weeks. Maxwell Anderson was convicted of her murder on June 6, 2025, and sentenced to life in prison.
Where did the murder happen?
Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Who was convicted?
Maxwell Steven Anderson (33-year-old Waukesha County resident charged with first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse, and arson; found guilty on all counts by a jury on June 6, 2025, and sentenced to life in prison on August 1, 2025.).
