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Two Virginia Women's Bodies Found, Same Man Suspected Third Woman's Case
The bodies of two women reported missing in Virginia this autumn were found together in an undeveloped lot, though authorities say they were murdered at separate times.
A Washington D.C. man has been arrested for two murders in Virginia — and is reportedly the suspect in a third person’s disappearance, according to police.
Anthony Robinson, 35, was arrested on Nov. 23, 2021 on two counts of first-degree murder after authorities identified the bodies of two women, according to the City of Harrisonburg Police Department. The bodies of Tonita Lorice Smith, 39, and Allene Elizabeth Redmon, 54, were found in the same location earlier that day, though police believe they died at separate times.
Now, authorities with the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police say Robinson is a person of interest in a third woman’s disappearance, according to People. Police have not yet named the third woman in their investigation.
Allene Redmon was reported missing by family and friends on Oct. 24, 2021, when she failed to show up for work or return to her Harrisonburg apartment, according to Harrisonburg Police. Those closest to Redmon said her absence was out of character.
Separately, the Charlottesville Police Department announced that Tonita Smith of Charlottesville, Virginia, was reported missing on Nov. 19, 2021. She was last seen on Nov. 14, and was believed to be traveling to Harrisonburg, some 60 miles away.
“HPD and the Charlottesville Police Department were conducting two separate missing persons investigations which resulted in narrowing the focus of their search for Ms. Redmon and Ms. Smith to an area near Linda Lane,” said Harrisonburg Police. “The bodies of both women were discovered by detectives from Harrisonburg Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit in an undeveloped lot off Linda Lane within a short distance of each other, though their deaths took place at different times.”
The Virginia Medical Examiner’s Office had yet to determine a time and cause of death for each victim.
Police say they are not pursuing any further suspects in the case.
Redmon was a mother of two daughters and left behind four grandchildren, according to her online obituary. She was a lifelong resident of Harrisonburg.
Smith was a mother of six, according to a GoFundMe page dedicated to raising funds for her funeral expenses.
“A day before Thanksgiving, we had to face the devastating news that our sister and friend, Nita, was taken from us in a senseless, unspeakable tragedy,” relatives wrote on the page. “Six young children lost their mother in the height of the holiday season, and it will be unimaginable to deliver this news and bear the brunt of financial obligations, among other things.”
The fundraising also referenced the fact that Smith’s 19-year-old niece, Sage Smith, disappeared on Nov. 20, 2012, according to Charlottesville Police. Although Sage’s body has never been found, police reclassified her case as a homicide in 2016 and named her acquaintance, Erik McFadden, as a person of interest. McFadden allegedly skipped town, and his whereabouts are still unknown.
While Robinson is not directly connected to Sage Smith’s disappearance, several jurisdictions across Northern Virginia are looking into whether or not he could be tied to other missing person cases, according to NBC Washington.
Harrisonburg Police Detective Leslie Wetherell told People they “don’t want to dismiss that that’s a possibility” regarding to other victims.
Robinson is expected to appear before a judge on Dec. 27, according to Harrisonburg’s Daily News-Record. On top of the counts of first-degree murder, he is also charged with two felony counts of concealing, transporting or altering a dead body.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Detective Leslie Wetherell at (540) 574-5050.
