'This hurt runs so deep': Community channels anger over Sade Robinson's death into action
Dashod Crutchfield did not know 19-year-old homicide victim Sade Carleena Robinson. But he knows many young women and girls who remind him of her — including his three sisters and numerous nieces and cousins.
Now, he wants to protect them and help bring peace and closure to Robinson's family. For him and many others, that means searching for her remains.
"The police is not doing enough. Their job is to protect and serve," Crutchfield, 27, said. "I feel like they are not taking this case as seriously as they should be. She is not an animal. She is a human being."
Last week, hours after two more body parts presumed to belong to Robinson were discovered by an individual walking on a stretch of beach in South Milwaukee, Crutchfield found himself once again in front of Maxwell Anderson's home on South 39th Street in Milwaukee.
Anderson, 33, was charged April 12 with first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse and arson in Robinson's death. His bail was set at $5 million and he remains in custody.
According to the criminal complaint, Anderson and Robinson went on a first date on April 1. After a night out, they went back to Anderson's home. The next day, authorities found a severed human leg at Warnimont Park in Cudahy, which has now been identified as belonging to Robinson, and additional remains and Robinson's burned-out car were found in Milwaukee in the following days. A torso and an arm, presumed to be Robinson's, were found Thursday.
Anderson is due back in court Monday for a preliminary hearing.
His house has become a place for people to pay respect to Robinson by leaving pink balloons, candles, pictures and posters on his lawn. It's also become a spot to find others who feel compelled to search for her remains.
Crutchfield's plan last week was to search Kern Park, a 30-acre greenspace nestled between the Milwaukee River's western shore and North Humboldt Boulevard. Records show Anderson spent time there the night of his date with Robinson.
"I am going to go search until my feet hurt," Crutchfield said. "What happened to her is heartbreaking for us in the community."
In the weeks since Robinson went missing and Anderson was charged with her murder and dismemberment, feelings of anger, fear and frustration have been growing in the community. The nature of the crime is resurrecting memories of a Milwaukee killer from decades ago, prompting calls for more safety and awareness about missing and murdered Black women and girls and demands for a more aggressive search by law enforcement for Robinson's remains.
James Burnett, the public information officer for the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office, told the Milwaukee Journal last week that he understands the public's frustration with the situation but wants to remind the community that it is still an active investigation.
"I understand community frustration, but very often, there are people who are not directly connected to this investigation, who are not aware of the work that is going on behind the scenes," Burnett said. "And that's not because of a lack of willingness to inform or engage the public."
Robinson's mother, Sheena Scarbrough, said there are a few law enforcement personnel who are going "above and beyond," whom she knows she can reach out to 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
But "the speed of finding my daughter is not going as fast as I like," she told the Journal Sentinel on Saturday.
With parts of her daughter's body still missing, it is nearly impossible to plan for any kind of funeral or cremation service, she said.
“Angry is when someone hits your car and drives away. Sad is how you feel when your dog dies,” Brown said. “Angry, sad, furious, livid is not enough to describe how anyone close to Sade is feeling right now."
'This hurt runs so deep'
Tawana Harris worked with Robinson at Pizza Shuttle for about three years and had classes with her at Milwaukee Area Technical College. At a vigil for Robinson on Friday night at Kilbourn Reservoir Park in Milwaukee, Harris described her as her “spiritual daughter,” someone she looked out for and cared about.
She said Robinson’s murder is part of a broader issue concerning missing and murdered Black women and girls.
“For older women like me, we need to be stepping up and protecting them,” Harris said. “I hope the community comes together in protection mode. Because enough is enough.”
April Bentley was a victim of human trafficking for most of her teenage years while growing up in Milwaukee. She started R.U.B.I.E.S., non-profit organization focused on education and prevention of sex trafficking through shaping character and culture, to help others avoid the same fate.
Her story is not identical to Robinson's, but she identifies with the abuse and harm inflicted upon another Black woman.
“I don’t know her personally, but I know her personally,” Bentley told the dozens gathered for Friday's vigil. "This hurt runs so deep.”
Sharrell Lewis lives a few blocks from Anderson, and her 19-year-old sister lives a block from his house. She was outside Anderson's home Thursday, talking with Crutchfield about continuing to search for Robinson's remains.
"I didn’t know I was living by Jeffrey Dahmer," Lewis said in reference to the convicted murderer who dismembered his victims in Milwaukee in the 1990s. "It’s like a horrible, horrible movie. You all don’t understand how this is hurting us Black women."
Robinson's mother also equated Anderson's actions to those of Dahmer, a serial killer whose victims included young men of color from Milwaukee.
"This is like some Dahmer-type shit, it is very concerning," Scarbrough told the Journal Sentinel. "I'm going to leave it at that point right there, and let my baby soul rest in peace."
She added the ongoing discoveries of Robinson's remains is "freaking her out," turning her life into an ongoing nightmare.
Lewis' anger turned toward Anderson's family and the role she believed they should play in convincing their son to bring closure to Robinson's mother and family.
“His family should be telling him to tell us where she is,” Lewis said Thursday. “He is turning this into a guessing game.”
Mother launches Sade's Voice to bring awareness of missing, murdered Black women
Scarbrough and her college friend Erika Brown are launching a nonprofit called Sade's Voice to bring resources, awareness and policy change to families in a similar situation.
Brown said there was a lot of activity to find Robinson when she first was reported missing but then it seemed to slow down. She said it should be noted that so far, all of Robinson's remains have been located by community members.
"I want to be clear. We care about all missing women but we recognize the disproportionate rate of us Black women coming up missing, and we have to step up," Brown said. "I feel if the body pieces that they have been finding were a different color they would be more aggressively looking for her."
On Sunday afternoon, before getting on a plane to fly home to Delaware, Brown spent the remaining hours of her time in Milwaukee with Scarbrough. The two first met while college students at Alcorn State University in Mississippi. She remembers when Scarbrough was pregnant with Robinson.
There for the beginning of Robinson's life, she is now present in her death.
The two women discussed their plans for Sade's Voice and how it can make a difference in Milwaukee.
"We are giving her a voice, not only for herself but all the Black and brown girls that continue to be going missing," Scarbrough said. "He had to take my daughter to speak for the rest of the girls."
A chief objective of Sade's Voice is raising awareness about the disproportionate rate of Black women and girls who go missing.
Data from several agencies find:
According to 2022 data from the National Crime Information Center, about 36% of missing women and girls are Black, despite making up about 7% of the U.S. population, according to census data.
An investigation by The Guardian found the homicide rate for Black women and girls increased 33% in 2020. The report found that the rate in Wisconsin doubled that year, making it the state with the highest homicide rate for Black women and girls.
Nearly 40% of missing children in America are Black, even though Black children make up just 14% of the U.S. population.
According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and an investigation by USA Today, 98% of children reported missing are located within days. Of those who are not, most are Black.
"This is why we need this foundation," Brown said. "We cannot depend on law enforcement alone to handle this. This is an epidemic."
Sade's Voice also will advocate for policy changes; empower communities to become advocates and allies in cases of missing Black women and girls; foster collaboration and partnerships with local organizations, law enforcement agencies and government entities; and provide education resources and self-defense classes.
"We can't be reactive anymore," Brown said, who works in nonprofit advocacy. "We want a few proactive initiatives so we don’t keep coming up missing."
Tthe women are encouraging prospective partners — those with experience in fundraising, advocacy work, support services — to contact them through their GoFundMe page, at gofund.me/822cbe6a.
The goal is to officially launch the foundation on May 10, which would have been Robinson's 20th birthday.
Law enforcement 'appreciates the assistance of the public'
At a press conference last week, Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman responded to questions about law enforcement's response in the case.
"I guess I take concern regards to saying that we did not put out enough effort or resources," he said. "We were out 24 hours a day and we are still part of some different searches going on."
Family members have been key to the search, he said, in being "able to identify things that will be personal effects that we would not be aware of."
The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office is the lead agency on the case, coordinating with 13 other entities, 12 other state and local and federal law enforcement agencies, as well as a nonprofit organization, and a "nationally renowned forensic expert," according to spokesperson James Burnett.
Asked Friday how he would respond to criticism from the community that law enforcement is not doing enough to find Robinson's remains, Burnett said there have been dozens of searches and the investigative team has "put on a full court press and has not let up."
"The search is ongoing," Burnett said. "It's consistent, it's constant, it's daily."
He said a top priority is to protect the integrity of the case, and while he understands community frustration, he said that these investigations can take some time.
"I don't think people understand sometimes that this is real life, not an episode of 'Law and Order,'" Burnett said.
He cited the events that played out late in the week as an example. Thursday morning, Robinson's arm and torso were discovered on a section of beach in South Milwaukee. The next day, a sonar boat, operated by a nonprofit organization called Bruce’s Legacy, was searching Lake Michigan, assisting the Sheriff's Office.
"Contrary to what some of the misinformation chatter has been, that wasn't a reactionary thing to more remains being found," Burnett told the Journal Sentinel on Friday. "That was actually something that had been planned."
Burnett acknowledged the community's dedication to continue searching, saying law enforcement "as a matter of routine appreciates the assistance of the public."
"I ask the community to keep supporting us," Scarbrough said. "I need to put my baby to peace."
Anyone with any information about this case is asked to contact the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office at (414) 278-4788 or to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at (414)224-Tips or P3 Tips.
David Clarey contributed to this report. He can be reached at DClarey@gannett.com.
Jessica Van Egeren is a reporter with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be reached at 608-320-3535 or jvanegeren@gannett.com. Adrienne Davis can be reached at AMDavis@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Sade Robinson death spurs searches, action from Milwaukee
