The lawyer for a man suspected of killing four women has asked a court to stop the police from using the nickname he鈥檚 become known for.
The defense lawyer for Anthony Eugene Robinson has filed a motion in the General District Court for Rockingham County and the City of Harrisonburg, asking the court to order the police to stop referring to his client as 鈥渁 serial killer鈥� and 鈥渢he shopping cart killer.鈥� He鈥檚 also asking the court to prevent the police in Harrisonburg and Fairfax County from releasing any information on the case to the media without the court鈥檚 permission.
Lawyer Louis Nagy鈥檚 motion centers around a news conference given by the police chiefs of those two jurisdictions last Dec. 17. Robinson had already been arrested in Harrisonburg and charged with two counts of first-degree murder there, and Fairfax County police said he was connected with two bodies found in shopping carts in the Alexandria section.
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis and Harrisonburg Police Chief Kelly Warner, as well as Fairfax County Maj. Ed O鈥機arroll, repeatedly called Robinson 鈥渁 serial killer,鈥� with Davis saying Robinson 鈥渋s called the shopping cart killer.鈥�
Robinson still hasn鈥檛 been charged in the Fairfax County deaths, and Nagy said in the motion that he was called by a reporter asking for comment on the 鈥渟erial killer鈥� characterization before the news conference had even begun 鈥� a sign that the police were 鈥渁lready feeding the media terms like 鈥榮erial killer鈥� before the news conference鈥� in an attempt to prejudice the public.
Throughout the news conference, Davis and O鈥機arroll do not refer to Robinson as 鈥渢he accused鈥� or 鈥渢he suspect,鈥� the motion says 鈥� only that Robinson 鈥渉as killed four already. And we suspect that he has more victims.鈥�
Nagy said in the motion that he鈥檚 been contacted by local and national media about the allegation that his client is a serial killer, and the nickname 鈥渟hopping cart killer鈥� has been all over local media, as well as , , , , and more.
He added that the nickname was 鈥渟pecifically designed to ensure that it would be repeated and used by every media outlet in the country,鈥� and said it will compromise Robinson鈥檚 ability to get a fair trial and an unbiased jury. He added that a remark made by O鈥機arroll during the new conference indicated that the police would continue to release 鈥渟ensitive information.鈥�
Nagy is asking for the Fairfax County and Harrisonburg police departments to be prevented from calling Robinson 鈥渁 serial killer鈥� or 鈥渢he shopping cart killer,鈥� and from releasing any information about the case without the court鈥檚 permission.
Fairfax County police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement, 鈥淔airfax County has a proven track record of conducting meticulous and methodical criminal investigations to pursue justice for victims and hold offenders accountable. This case is no exception. While the defendant will enjoy the presumption of innocence, the Fairfax County Police Department stands by its criminal investigation and we look forward to presenting our findings in a court of law.鈥�
草莓传媒’s Neal Augenstein contributed to this report.
