A Milwaukee man was charged Friday with murder and mutilation of a corpse after a severed leg believed to belong to a 19-year-old woman missing earlier this month was discovered, authorities said.
Maxwell Anderson, 33, who was arrested last week as a person of interest in the disappearance of Said Robinson, was charged Friday morning, authorities said.
Milwaukee County Sheriff Denita Ball said at a news conference that the severed leg was discovered on April 2 and was previously identified as Robinson's.
Milwaukee police found human remains in three other locations, including on the side of railroad tracks, on April 5 and April 6, but identification is still pending, Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said. .
“This is a terrible tragedy,” Norman said. He and Ball said the department's thoughts and prayers are with the Robinson family.
Ball said the district attorney's office charged Anderson with first-degree intentional homicide, mutilation of a corpse and arson of non-building property.
On April 3, Milwaukee police asked the public for help locating Robinson, who was last seen on April 1 and was considered a “critically missing person.”
Ball said Anderson was listed as a “person of interest” on April 4, two days after the leg was discovered, and was arrested after a traffic stop. His home was searched, but authorities would not say Friday what was found.
Authorities did not reveal a motive, saying the investigation was ongoing.
Ball said investigators believe Robinson and Anderson may have met at Anderson's place of work, but are working to confirm that.
The investigation is ongoing and law enforcement continues to search for Robinson's body, Ball said. Investigators have no information that anyone else was involved, she said.
“We do not believe there are any other victims and we do not believe the perpetrator of this heinous crime has been arrested,” Ball said.
An attorney listed as representing Mr. Anderson did not respond to a request for comment late Friday. Anderson was ordered held in lieu of $5 million bail, according to court and jail records.
“This is justice for Thad,” Robinson's mother, Sheena Scarborough, said Friday of the criminal charges, NBC affiliate WTMJ in Milwaukee reported.
The families said they would continue searching for their loved ones' bodies.