Murder in Madison Leaves Two Teens with Million-Dollar Bail

Two 18-year-olds are held on a $1 million dollar bail and are being charged with abducting a UW-Madison associate professor and her husband in their own car then killing them on campus.

Khari Sanford and Ali’jah Larrue are being charged with the murder of Dr. Beth Potter, a physician at the Access community Health Centers Wingra Family Medical Center and an associate professor at UW Madison, and her husband Robin Carre who was an independent educational consultant at Carre College. The prosecutor William Brown did not have doubts of Sanford and Laurre’s guilt during the hearing. 

“There’s really no other way to put it, this was a brutal execution,” said Brown. 

Assistant public defenders Diana Van Rybroek and Crystal Vera said the police had not finished their investigation and they cannot confirm their guilt without all the information present. 

“Sanford is innocent until proven guilty… the state is still investigating,” said Vera. “They don’t even know the strength of their own case until this investigation is done.” 

According to Brown during the hearing, Potter and Carre were found around 6:30 in the morning by a jogger and pistol shells were found on the scene. Brown claimed that they had records from Sanford’s cell phone and video from security and traffic cameras showing him circling the house of the victims, and again near the UW Arboretum. The bodies were found by the Arboretum the following morning, but Potter was still alive and was rushed to the nearest hospital where she later died. The minivan Sanford and Larrue were allegedly driving was seen entering ther neighborhood of the AirBnB and two people walked out and threw items into the woods. Sanford and Larrue were charged with murder and each have $1 million bail. 

According to the criminal complaint Potter and Carre had just moved her daughter and her boyfriend, Sanford, out of the house and to an AirBnB. The reasoning was that they were not following Potter and Carre’s social distancing rules. Potter was reportedly on medication and at a greater risk of infection. 

The complaint stated, “Beth Potter’s medication put her at greater risk of infection, and she had a need for social distancing, and that was why they moved Miriam and Khari to an AirBnB.” 

Chief of Police Kristan Roman spoke in a video-press-release about the arrest of Sanford stating that he was known to the family and the murders were planned. 

“We believe this was not a random act, it was calculated, cold-blooded and senseless,” said Roman. 

Brown claimed that he believed Carre and Potter were taken alive from their home to the UW Arboretum where they were subsequently shot, citing cell phone, traffic camera and security footage of the minivan Sanford and Larrue are believed to have been in. They were found in their pajamas and underwear according to Brown. 

According to the criminal complaint, Carre and Potter’s daughter Miriam said she loved her boyfriend and was extremely loyal to him. The complaint found that Miriam had not been truthful with the investigators and claimed that Sanford was with her when cell phone records and video of Mirian parents’ minivan she was borrowing put Sanford somewhere else. The call logs suggest that Sanford did take the van and was with another person. 

At 11:02 p.m. Miriam allegedly sent a text to Sanford saying, “At least bring back the car and have someone get you from here.” 

According to the complaint the messages go on with one of her other contacts labeled as “SD,” that Sanford arrived with someone else at 11:19 p.m.. It said, “I think he just pulled up. Like with someone. But yes, its him.” 

Police believe the other person to be Larrue. 

Brown reported in the hearing that witnesses who live near the UW Arboretum said they heard gunshots at about 11 p.m., placing Sanford in-use of the mini van during the murder. 

“People who live near the UW Arboretum indicating gunshots were fired around 11 p.m.,” said Brown. 

According to the complaint Kenneth Folkers conducted an interview of a witness named as “DF,” that indicated he was friends and classmates with Miriam and Sanford. DF told Folkers he heard a discussion during ceramics class where Miriam told Sanford her parents had “bands” of money. 

None of Potter and Carre’s money was reported to have been missing. 

According to the complaint, police searched the woods and found crumpled pieces of mail addressed to Potter and a broken cellphone. 

According to the court records, Rybroek and Vera withdrew from the case during the preliminary hearing and were replaced by Andrew Martinez and Jeremiah Mayer-O’Day. 

UW Madison wrote in a statement, “Our sadness and shock at this loss is profound. We honor the passion and commitment she brought to the health of her patients and her fellow health care professionals.”