$1 Million Bail Set For High School Senior After Double Homicide

A small rectangular slot in the wall revealed a masked face with eyes that meandered in and out of the frame periodically throughout the court hearing held over Zoom. The hearing covered a criminal complaint filed by the state of Wisconsin for the person behind the mask, Khari Sanford, 18, who supposedly murdered a UW physician and her husband.

“This case is one where he is alleged to be apparently a high school senior very involved in a lot of pro-social activities and having those connections,” said Court Commissioner Jason Hanson. “He’s also alleged to have kidnapped and murdered two people by shooting them in the head in a criminal complaint, and he is alleged to have done that while already on a bail.”

The bodies of Beth Potter, 52, and Robin Carre, 57, were found clothed in pajamas lying in the arboretum where a jogger found them the morning after the murder. Beth Potter’s coworkers at UW Health spoke fondly of her in a UW-Madison article, “Remembering Dr. Beth Potter.”

Beth Potter was a physician at the Access Community Health Centers Wingra Family Medical Center and the Medical Director of Employee Health Services for UW Health. She was described in the article as “wise, warm and always supportive,” by MD, Professor and Interim Chair for the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, William Schwab.

Robin Carre had a PhD in philosophy and was an Independent Education Consultant who passionately guided high school students and their families through the college admissions process, according Robin Carre’s Linked in. He also is greatly missed by his clients and community members.

Miriam Potter-Carre, adopted daughter of the two victims killed, was dating Sanford; they lived together in an Airbnb. A day before the couple was killed, a friend of Beth Potter’s said Beth Potter had moved her daughter into an Airbnb with her boyfriend because Beth Potter was high risk for COVID-19 and she was worried they were not following social distancing restrictions.

Sanford was in the middle of his senior year waiting for colleges to respond back to his applications. He was captain of the football team since his freshman year and was an active member of his school, according to his defense attorneys’ Diana Van Rybroek and Crystal Vera.

“In terms of community ties, Khari has a number of people in the community and a number of leaders in Madison who have reached out to us and they have done that because they wish to vouch for Kari,” said Van Rybroek. “They wish to offer their support for Khari. They wish to help him and help us in any way that they can.”

Commissioner Hanson said that Sanford has many strong ties with people in the community who probably have a very different viewpoint on the situation than the state.

“There has been, I believe, we believe, an insatiable amount of interest in this case this past week,” said Van Rybroek. “There has been an incredible amount of speculation around this case. As you said yourself commissioner, there’s a lot that we don’t know about this case.”

The case is still ongoing while the state continues to investigate and Sanford remains innocent until proven guilty, said Vera.

In the criminal complaint the state offers possible evidence to support Sanford committed the crime.

The complaint says Miriam Potter-Carre told detectives that Sanford was with her in their Airbnb at the time of the shooting. However, Dane County Assistant District Attorney William Brown said there is ample evidence to suggest that Sanford was driving around the city of Madison in the location of the victim’s residence and the place where they were shot.

Sanford’s girlfriend had been given a white van from her parents, the victims, to use while they resided in the Airbnb. The van was registered to Carre, according to the complaint. It was seen on city surveillance, on a UW camera and a private security camera driving through the city of Madison in the area where the victims were shot in the same time frame of the crime. The van had three distinct bumper stickers that matched the images from the footage, according to Brown.

There were also cell phone records that Miriam Potter-Carre called Sanford and sent texts to him in the time she said they were together.

Alijah Larrue, 18, a second suspect, was identified by DF, a friend of both Miriam Potter-Carre and Khari Sanford and a classmate at Madison West High School. Larrue was allegedly with Sanford in the van. Larrue allowed his phone to be investigated and its location revealed the circling of where the Potter-Carres lived and the location of the shooting, according to the criminal report.

Multiple neighbors confirmed hearing gunshots around 11:05 pm. The phone location indicated Larrue was in the area, said Dane County Assistant District Attorney William Brown.

Brown also stated that Sanford or someone close to him was googling blocks 357 which is the same caliber of the weapon that was fired and killed the victims.

The Medical examiner said both victims were shot in the head from a very close range. The male victim was shot 1-3 feet away with 357 shells. The casings were found at the scene indicating multiple shots fired and they were consistent with what people in the neighborhood said they heard around that time.

The criminal report also showed a picture from text messages between Sanford and his girlfriend of Sanford holding a virtual image of a firearm.

In an interview with detectives DF said he overheard a discussion between Miriam Potter-Carre and Sanford in a ceramics class at West High School right before school was canceled due to COVID-19. DF said that during the conversation Miriam Potter-Carre talked with Khari about an idea of how they could get money. DF said he heard Miriam Potter-Carre say her parents had “bands” of money and that they were rich. DF thought that “bands” meant thousands of dollars.

“The evidence tying Mr. Sanford to this crime is frankly overwhelming at this point, in addition to probably the most incriminating piece of evidence which was statements he made to a citizen witness identified in the criminal complaint that he in fact did shoot the folks involved and was concerned after hearing in the news that one of them was alive,” said Brown.

During the interview with DF, he told detectives Sanford had stopped by his house and appeared frantic. DF described Sanford as pacing around the room and sweating, according to the criminal complaint.

DF also reported that Sanford made a phone call to Larrue that he could overhear. DF said that Sanford told Larrue that social media revealed that one of the victims in the Arboretum shooting was in the hospital and possibly alive. DF said that Sandord said “I swear I hit them, how did they survive,” over the phone. DF also said he heard Sanford make statements that he was scared that a victim could have survived that would implicate him in the homicide.

After Sanford hung up the phone DF said Sanford told DF that he had shot the people in the “back of the head,” at the Arboretum. This was before details about the shooting and how victims had been killed were revealed to the public. DF also reported that Sanford told him that Larrue was with him during the shooting.

“The evidence is just simply overwhelming, I ask a $1 Million cash bail be set,” said Brown.

Sanford should have no contact with the victim’s family, specifically Miriam Potter-Carre because she made statements during the course of this investigation that were not true in an apparent effort to protect him, said Brown. He also asked that Sanford have no contact with the victim’s family in the course of the case.

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

Sanford’s defense attorneys had asked for a smaller bail but were denied after all attorneys had been given the chance to speak during the meeting.

“So, while we agree that these allegations are serious, we ask everybody to remember that these are merely allegations, these are merely accusations,” said Van Rybroek. “And while Kari is now today charged, he is presumed innocent. He has not been found guilty and so we ask that people suspend their judgment and not rush to judgement.”

The preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 16th at 9 am.