Fairfax County, Virginia, police officials announced Friday that a fifth victim of the “shopping cart killer” may have been found after a deceased woman was found in a shopping cart in Washington, DC. Officials believe the killer may be attracting women using dating apps.
“This week we also received credible advice suggesting that our person of interest may be a person of interest in a Washington DC case where a dead woman was found in a shopping cart,” said the county police spokesman. Fairfax, Anthony Guglielmi, on Twitter. “The digital information places him in that area at the time of his disappearance.”
The body of the woman in question was found by authorities in the Washington, DC area. He had covered her with a blanket.
Police were led to the deceased woman’s area after receiving an undisclosed tip. His identity has not been released.
The fifth body was found as police continue to investigate Anthony Robinson, 35, a man from Washington, DC, currently in custody on two counts of first-degree murder and additional charges of illegally transporting or concealing a body.
These charges were based on the remains of two women found in Harrisonburg, Virginia, last November.
Robinson allegedly used shopping carts to move the remains of his victims, earning him the nickname “shopping cart killer.”
iStock / Getty
Four total women found throughout the state of Virginia have been named as potential victims of the killer: the two women in Harrisonburg who were found late last year, and two other women were also found dead in Alexandria.
The two women found in Harrisonburg were previously identified as Allene Beth Redmon, 54, of Harrisonburg and Tonita Lorice Smith, 39, of Charlottesville. The discovery of these bodies ultimately led to Robinson’s arrest on November 23.
The news of a possible fifth victim comes as officials Friday also confirmed the identities of the two victims who were found in the Alexandria area: Stephanie Harrison, 48, of Redding, California, and Cheyenne Brown, 29, from Washington, DC.
The decomposition of Alexandria’s bodies had made identification difficult, but investigators had begun to believe that one of the remains was Brown after he was reported missing last October. Detectives had also flown to Redding to work on confirming Harrison’s identity.
These actions eventually led to the confirmation of bodies such as Harrison and Brown, and Fairfax County authorities added that “a private laboratory in Fairfax County was stepped up to expedite the processing of our victims’ DNA.”
While Robinson has not been charged in connection with the Alexandria women, Fairfax officials have said they will likely press charges in connection with the murders.
As the investigation into Robinson’s actions continues, police said they believe he may have used two dating apps, Plenty of Fish and Tagged, to try to lure women to him.
The authorities stated that they believed that potentially more victims could be found, adding that there were probably people who had managed to escape. “We think there could be more [victims]”Gugliemi added on Twitter, asking the public to submit information.
This sentiment was shared by Fairfax Police Chief Kevin Davis, who stated that “we believe there are survivors.”
Newsweek has reached out to the Fairfax County Police Department for comment.