MILWAUKEE — Sade Robinson’s mother Sheena Scarbrough prepared for this trial mentally and spiritually.

“I’m ready to get this process started. I want the demon fully held accountable on all the charges of what he did to my baby,” Scarbrough told WTMJ host Jessica Tighe.

Opening statements in the high-profile trial against 34-year-old Maxwell Anderson started May 28th.

Anderson is accused of killing and dismembering Scarbrough’s 19-year-old daughter after a first date in April 2024. He’s charged with first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse, hiding a corpse, and arson.

The gruesome nature of Robinson’s death shocked the community and forever changed her family. Parts of the young woman’s body were found scattered across Milwaukee County. Another part was discovered along the lakeshore in Waukegan, Illinois.

Scarbrough says she still doesn’t have all of her daughter’s remains.

“We don’t have my baby’s head– her crown. We still don’t have my baby’s head and her crown,” Scarbrough explained.

She also wants more answers.

“(Sade’s) death certificate reads homicide by unspecified means. There is no cause of death on my daughter’s death certificate,” Scarbrough revealed.

This mother’s pain is unimaginable for most.

“It affects you physically, not just mentally and spiritually, but physically. It’s very heavy. It’s very heavy and draining,” she said.

Scarbrough plans to be in the courtroom every single day, sitting in the front row. She knows she’ll never get her daughter back, but she wants Robinson’s killer to pay.

“What punishment do you think he should get if convicted,” Tighe asked.

“He needs to get the same form of punishment as what he did to my baby,” Scarbrough answered.

Wisconsin does not have the death penalty, but Scarbrough says that’s what she would want if the state did.

“Justice for my baby, justice for my family, justice for me and her father. I want that demon to fully feel and pay for the pain and the suffering and the torture he did to my daughter,” Scarbrough said.

Robinson was set to graduate from MATC in May 2024. She had planned to enlist in the U.S. Air Force and had hopes of eventually joining the FBI.

The trial in Milwaukee County is expected to last two weeks.

Sheena Scarbrough talked with Wisconsin’s Midday News in February and discussed the foundation she created to honor her daughter. Listen to the podcast and learn how “Sade’s Voice Foundation” is working to protect other missing people and crime victims.

A jury of 12 women and three men will determine the fate of Maxwell Anderson, who is accused of killing and dismembering 19-year-old Sade Robinson after a first date last year.

RELATED COVERAGE: Jury selected for Maxwell Anderson trial in the death of 19-year-old Sade Robinson

Local defense attorney Pat Cafferty, who will be providing analysis for TMJ4 throughout the trial, expressed surprise at the efficiency of the jury selection process.

“I think lots of people were predicting that it was going to go beyond just today to select the jury, but it sounds like the judge moved very efficiently,” Cafferty said.

The jury was seated just before 5 p.m., narrowed down from more than 40 potential jurors after starting with an initial pool of around 75.

Watch: Milwaukee defense attorney surprised by quick jury selection in Maxwell Anderson trial

Attorney provides insight into jury selection on first day of Maxwell Anderson trial

“Part of what they did was they used jury questionnaires to eliminate some of the potential jurors. They got the number down to about 40, and then once they were at 40 through preemptory strikes and strikes for cause, they got it down to 15,” Cafferty said.

The jury includes three alternates, though none of the jurors know whether they are regular jurors or potential substitutes.

When asked how a defense attorney might approach a case like this that deals with evidence including pictures of body parts, Cafferty said, “as defense attorneys, what we’re trained to do, and what experiences, experience tells us to do, is you have to be comfortable being uncomfortable so you can’t run and hide from some of this evidence. You have to deal with it head on.”

Cafferty also provided some insight into what the defense strategy in this case could look like.

The prosecution’s evidence reportedly includes cell phone location data and video footage of Anderson on and off buses, though there are gaps in time and information that the defense may exploit.

Cafferty explained that the defense will likely focus on the first-degree intentional homicide charge, which carries a life sentence, rather than the other less serious charges.

“My understanding is what they don’t have is a cause of death or manner of death,” he said. “They can most certainly say that Ms. Robinson is dead, and there’s probably significant evidence about the charges, numbers 2, 3, 4, the concealment, the mutilation, the arson, but the government has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Maxwell Anderson intentionally killed Miss Robinson, and that’s where the focus of the defense will be.”

Opening statements in the trial are expected Wednesday. Anderson’s trial could last as long as two weeks.

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SOUTH MILWAUKEE, Wis. – A mercury spill blocked off a South Milwaukee road for hours on Memorial Day.

What we know:

Crews were called to a storage unit facility near 11th and Columbia on Monday, May 26.

The South Milwaukee Fire Department said there was no threat to the public, but the storage facility remains closed after a chemical was found on the lot.

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“There is no longer a life-safety hazard,” Battalion Chief John Frost said. “They are still going to drive by and see buckets and stuff like that. That’s why the facility will be locked down.”

Frost confirmed the substance was found outside a storage unit.

“We initially got a call for some sort of liquid on the ground, that the person thought looked like mercury. We got on scene, confirmed it did look like mercury and called the Milwaukee hazmat,” Frost said. “I don’t know how much, it was quite a bit of droplets on the outside between buildings.”

Frost said he was surprised by the spill.

“I’m not sure what a mercury spill would be doing around here,” Frost said.

Local perspective:

“My sister called me and said all hell was breaking loose out here,” said Thomas Urbaniak, who lives nearby.

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“All of a sudden I seen the men in white, so I figured something chemical, I’m not sure,” said Rudik Nieves, a neighbor.