Wisconsin man convicted of killing girlfriend's parents, leaving bodies in arboretum

MADISON Wis. (TCD) -- A jury convicted a 20-year-old man of killing his girlfriend’s parents during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and leaving their bodies in an arboretum.

Madison.com reports Khari Sanford was found guilty of two counts of intentional homicide for the deaths of Dr. Beth Potter and Robin Carre. Sanford was reportedly in a relationship with the victims' daughter, Miriam Carre, and the two lived together in an Airbnb. On March 30, 2020, Sanford and his friend Ali’jah Larrue forced Potter and Robin Carre into a van at gunpoint and shot them in the head.

University of Wisconsin-Madison Police said the bodies were found March 31 at approximately 6:30 a.m. in a ditch by a jogger who was running near the university’s arboretum. Carre was reportedly pronounced dead at the scene; Potter was transported to a hospital, where she died.

Police arrested the then-18-year-old Sanford on April 3. They also took Larrue into custody that same day.

According to WMTV-TV, Sanford and Miriam Carre had lived with her parents but moved into the Airbnb because Potter had a high risk of contracting COVID-19 and the teens were not following social distance protocols.

Larrue pleaded guilty in May 2021 to two counts of murder kidnapping, and as part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped charges of party to the crime of first-degree homicide, WMTV reports.

Larrue testified against Sanford during the trial and said he drove the van to the arboretum.

Potter was an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin’s Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. An article about her on the school’s website said, "She dedicated her career to the health of families, women, and underserved communities, as well as the education of medical students and residents. In addition, she championed initiatives aimed at fostering the wellness of her health care colleagues."

Sanford could face up to life in prison.

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