Arrest Made in Arboretum Double Homicide

  • Case number: 20-00475
  • Incident date: March 31, 2020, 12:00 am
  • Incident type: Homicide
  • Location/address: UW Arboretum

On Tuesday, March 31, at approximately 6:30 a.m., a passerby who was jogging through the UW Arboretum came upon Beth and Robin lying in a ditch. As first-responders arrived, Robin was pronounced dead at the scene and Beth was transported to a local hospital where she later died. Read our previous release here.

Since that time, UWPD officers and investigators have worked tirelessly to investigate this heinous crime and find those responsible. Today, we are able to announce that through exceptional police work and with the help of many in our community who provided numerous tips, late last night UWPD officers arrested 18-year-old Khari Sanford – Sanford has been booked into the Dane County Jail on two counts of Party to a Crime for First Degree Intentional Homicide.

Understandably, a violent crime such as this creates significant concern and fear throughout the community. To this UWPD can confirm that the suspect is known to the family — and as we shared in a previous statement, we believe that this was not a random act. It was calculated, cold-blooded, and senseless — and we will continue to do all we can to bring justice to Robin and Beth, their family, and their loved ones.

While this arrest is a significant development, no criminal investigation ends at the point of an arrest. This remains a very active police investigation and we encourage anyone who may yet have information about this case to contact Madison Area Crime Stoppers at (608) 266-6014 or online at www.p3tips.com.

UWPD would like to acknowledge the incredible work of our UW-Madison Police Department officers and investigators who have worked around the clock these past few days. We also want to thank our partners at the Madison Police Department, the Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office, and the Department of Criminal Investigations, who have dedicated time and resources to support our investigation from the outset.

We are in difficult times right now – Undoubtedly, this unspeakable crime adds to our community’s anxiety, sadness, and feelings of uncertainty. We know that questions about what happened to Beth and Robin — and why — remain. We pledge to provide as many answers as we can, when we can, as this investigation moves forward.