Khari Sanford’s Bail Set to $1 Million for Murders of Beth Potter and Robin Carre

Khari Sanford’s bail was set to $1 million for the murders of Beth Potter and Robin Carre during his preliminary court hearing via Zoom.

Sanford, 18, and Ali’jah Larrue, 18, were charged with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide for the execution-style murder of UW-Madison Doctor Beth Potter and her husband Robin Carre. Their bodies were found in the UW Arboretum by joggers the morning of March 31. Carre was found only wearing his underwear and Potter was wearing pajamas. Neither of them was wearing shoes. Carre was pronounced dead at the scene, but Potter was taken to the UW Hospital where she later died, according to the criminal complaint. 

Potter and Carre moved their adopted daughter, Miriam Potter Carre, and her boyfriend, Sanford, to an Air BNB because they weren’t abiding by the Covid-19 Safer-At-Home order while living with Potter and Carre, according to the criminal complaint. 

A friend of Potter’s told police that she talked with Potter about the situation with her daughter and her boyfriend the evening before the shooting. The friend said Potter was clearly frustrated during their conversation. Potter said that her daughter was saying things like “You don’t care about me” to her while they were moving, according to the complaint. 

A laptop was set up outside Sanford’s cell door while he sat and looked through the trap slot of the door to attend his hearing using Zoom, an online video meeting space. Sanford was wearing a blue medical mask and didn’t speak throughout the ten-minute meeting that was posted to YouTube. 

The prosecutor Dane County Assistant District Attorney William Brown recommended Sanford’s cash bail amount and listed off the evidence the police gathered including cell phone GPS and witness statements. 

“The evidence tying Mr. Sanford to this crime is frankly overwhelming at this point,” Brown said. 

Sanford’s defense attorney Assistant Public Defender Diana Van Rybrock argued that a $1 million cash bail was too much and said that Sanford had a lot of community support.

“We ask everyone to remember that these are merely accusations… he has not been found guilty and so we ask that people suspend their judgement,” Van Rybrock said. 

Court Commissioner Jason Hanson ultimately agreed with the prosecutor’s recommendation.

“I can’t see that a cash bail at any amount less than what the state has requested would be appropriate or would assure his appearance in court for that court proceeding,” Hanson said. 

Potter and Carre let their daughter use their white Volkswagen while she was staying at the Air BNB. Police obtained multiple security camera footage of that same vehicle driving around Madison the same time they suspect the victims were shot. Text messages from Potter Carre’s phone suggests that she was still at the Air BNB during that time but was trying to get a hold of Sanford who was allegedly in possession of the vehicle, according to the complaint. 

Larrue was allegedly in the car with Sanford that night. According to Potter Carre’s text messages, Sanford and Larrue returned to the Air BNB together in the Volkswagen. 

Police used GPS on Larrue’s phone and were able to see that he was circling the home of Potter and Carre and was also near the Arboretum during the suspected time of the shooting, according to the complaint.

Both Sanford and Potter Carre attended Madison West High School. A classmate of Sanford and Potter Carre told police that Potter Carre was telling Sanford during class that her parents were rich and had “bands, according to the complaint. Potter Carre hasn’t been charged in connection to the case.

During a press release video, UWPD Chief of Police Kristen Roman said that Beth Potter and Robin Carre were remarkable individuals who impacted the lives of so many. Potter was a physician at the Access Community Health Centers Wingra Family Medical Center. She was also the Medical Director of Employee Health Services at UW Health. She attended medical school at Rush Medical College in Chicago. She was a well-respected physician and teacher, according to the UW School of Medicine and Public Health.

Robin Carre went to the University of Illinois where he got his Doctor of Philosophy focused in European history. He most recently worked as an independent education consultant helping high school students through the college admissions process, according to his Linked In page.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many family members, friends and colleagues won’t be able to gather in person to commemorate Potter and Carre’s lives.