When the pandemic hit, Khari Sanford wasn’t willing to social distance leading to drastic consequences when he finally cracked and carried out an unthinkable crime
A jogger was running along the streets of Madison, Wisconsin in the early hours of 31 March, 2020. They made their way through the University of Wisconsin – Madison Arboretum, a 1,200-acre woodland area used for teaching and research, and a green space enjoyed by the community.
It was 6.30am, and the city was just waking up. But as the jogger passed a ditch, they were horrified to find two bodies slumped and covered in blood. They’d both been shot in the head. The man was dressed in just his underwear, and he was dead. There was also a woman dressed in pyjamas and socks and she was barely alive. Her body temperature had dropped to 30 degrees. She was rushed to the local hospital, but tragically, she couldn’t be saved.
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The victims were identified as a local husband and wife. Dr Beth Potter was a physician at the university clinic and her husband Robin Carre was an education consultant and a stay-at-home dad to their three children.
The murders shocked the community. The police described the killings as “calculated, cold-blooded and senseless”. It was clear the couple had been abducted during their bedtime, and the police believed they’d been shot dead at point blank range while they were in the ditch. But who would want to kill them?
Beth, 52, and Robin, 57, were known for their caring personalities and good deeds. Robin was a soccer coach at a local club and was a respected mentor for young people. He was passionate and patient. Beth was always fundraising and putting her efforts behind campaigns. They both loved the outdoors and were advocates for the environment.
Investigators began looking deeper into their lives to try to find out who had killed the loving couple.
RISING TENSIONS
One of Beth and Robin’s children was an adopted teen daughter. The police discovered that at the start of the Covid outbreak, Beth and Robin had allowed their daughter’s boyfriend Khari Sanford, to stay with them when the lockdown rules were put into place.
Sanford, 18, had a troubled background. His dad was in prison, his mum wasn’t always on the scene and he’d been in foster care. But while he’d once got into trouble for stealing the car of one of his foster carers, Sanford was also active on the soccer team at his school, and he was vice president of the schools’ Black Student’s Union.
Beth and Robin opened their home to him when the pandemic hit, but tensions quickly started to rise. Beth reportedly had a medical condition that made her feel vulnerable. The couple wanted their daughter and Sanford to live by social-distancing rules – but Sanford refused. He disobeyed the rules and even smoked drugs in their home.
Eventually, Beth and Robin arranged to rent Sanford and their daughter an Airbnb until they could find an apartment of their own, and the pair moved out. Allegedly, Beth’s daughter was offended by the decision and Sanford felt that her parents didn’t respect him enough. Beth and Robin’s friends said they were upset over the decision, but they had no choice – and they were paying for the new accommodation. Was the decision to make the teenagers move out enough to lead to murder? The police believed so.
In April, Sanford and a second teenager, Ali’jah Larrue, were arrested and charged with Beth and Robin’s murder. While Sanford denied his role, Larrue admitted his part in the crime and helped build the case.
The police determined that after the tension with Beth and Robin, Sanford decided to kill them. Larrue drove Sanford to their home in a white Volkswagen minivan that Beth and Robin had lent their daughter. He insisted he didn’t know why they were there until Sanford marched the couple out in their nightwear. He drove them to the arboretum, where Sanford made them get out.
After waiting, Larrue drove Sanford back to the Airbnb. Larrue said after they’d gone their separate ways, Sanford called him in a panic as he’d heard on social media that one of the victims was still alive. “I swear I hit them. How did they survive?” Sanford said. Larrue claimed he then realised what Sanford had done. Both were held on a $1million bond.
BRUTAL EXECUTION
In 2021, Larrue, who also went by the nickname “Huncho”, pleaded guilty to two counts of felony murder kidnapping – a reduced charge because he’d taken responsibility and agreed to testify against Sanford. He had no criminal record.
At Sanford’s trial this year, the prosecution said it was also greed that motivated the then-teen to kill the caring couple who had taken him in, adding that it was a “brutal execution”. Beth and Robin’s daughter had been overheard at school saying her parents were rich, and some of their belongings had been taken from their home.
Larrue testified at Sanford’s trial and insisted again that he didn’t know Sanford was going to kill his girlfriend’s parents. He said Sanford had called him to “hang out”. Sanford had come out, pointing a gun at the couple and they sat in the rear seats. Sanford directed him to the arboretum and when they arrived, told Beth and Robin to get out. Larrue said he heard the gunshots.
While Larrue said he’d feared for his own life, it was pointed out by the prosecution that at any point Larrue could have driven away and got help. He didn’t, and afterwards he helped conceal the evidence and even sold some Apple AirPods taken from the house.
Beth and Robin’s adopted daughter, who has not been charged in the case, testified that she knew nothing about the plans and said she’d been fearful of Sanford at times. She also said he’d manipulated her during their relationship and had once threatened suicide then called it a “social experiment”.
The defence said there was no evidence that Sanford, now 20, had ever been seen as a threat. “Would parents let their daughter live with someone dangerous?” they asked.
But the evidence, including GPS data and surveillance footage from the night of the double killing, proved they didn’t know Sanford at all. “They were living in fear of Covid,” the prosecution said. “They should have been living in fear of Khari Sanford.”
In May 2022, after three hours’ deliberation, the jury found him guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and use of a dangerous weapon.
Three months later, Sanford and Larrue both faced sentencing. Sanford said Beth and Robin “were beautiful people” who had taken him in. “If taking my life is what it takes to repay them, to resolve the grievances of this beautiful family and define justice, I will be honoured, your honour, take it.”
The judge sentenced him to life in prison and told him he will never be eligible for parole. She said she couldn’t be sure he would ever “evolve into a person who cares about other human beings”.
“What I do know,” she said, “is that currently you have utter disregard for human life and the public, no matter how kind they are to you, no matter how generous they are to you, no matter how much they try to help you, they are at risk of being killed by you.”
The judge added that the world had been a better place with Beth and Robin in it.
Following Sanford’s sentencing, his former school friend Larrue, now 20, heard his fate. The judge condemned him for being a “follower” on the night of the killing. He had lots of opportunities to do the right thing – including calling 911 when he’d got home. Beth was still alive in the ditch and might have been saved.
“You could have saved a life,” she told him. Larrue expressed his regret. “I also blame myself every night for not calling the police,” he said. He was sentenced to eight years in prison. With time served, he’ll effectively spend 5 ½ years behind bars before 10 years of extended supervision.
The pandemic changed the world, but this tragic case shows that the fallout was much greater than we imagined.