'The Dating App Killer: The Monica White Story' premiered on Netflix, drawing renewed attention to the real-life case of Anthony Robinson, notoriously known as the 'Shopping Cart Killer.'
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Add BollywoodShaadis on GoogleNetflix has added another survival tale to its repertoire, and it’s a disturbing one. What makes it more chilling is that it’s not fiction but based on a very real incident that shook the nation and rekindled concerns about the risks of online dating.
The Dating App Killer: The Monica White Story originally premiered on Lifetime TV and later debuted on Netflix on August 15, 2026. The story dramatizes the real-life ordeal of Monica White, a divorced woman who narrowly escaped a convicted killer.
White met Robinson, a single father from Virginia, in late 2020 through the dating app Tagged. At the time, she was a recent divorcee looking for companionship and wasn't initially expecting a serious relationship. Robinson reportedly messaged her with, "Hi beautiful, I'd like to get to know you better."
In her 2024 interview with PEOPLE, Monica said, "I wasn't really thinking romantically. It was just companionship." The two began talking and video chatting regularly, and White initially believed she had met an ordinary man. But when Anthony traveled from Harrisonburg, Virginia, to Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, to meet her in person in January 2021, Monica began noticing red flags.
White recalled Robinson telling her he didn't like being rejected by women. His behavior became increasingly uncomfortable during his visit. She recalled how things felt off the moment she picked him up at the bus station. Monica shared:
"There were things that went up as red flags at the first visit,” she says. “He was like, 'Please don't judge me straight off the bat. Let's get to know each other. I don't like when women reject me.’ So that was a red flag right there."
White said when they got intimate, Robinson tried to tie her up and pulled her arms behind her back before grabbing her by the neck. She told him she wasn't comfortable with what he was doing, but Robinson reportedly continued to push boundaries. He also suggested moving in with her despite their relationship being relatively new. White rejected that idea, telling him he was moving too quickly. "I told him, ‘No. You're moving too fast, man."
Robinson returned to Pennsylvania the following month for White's 54th birthday, arriving a week prior. That visit ultimately became the breaking point, and Monica finally said she didn't want to get intimate with him again. She shared that Robinson behaved erratically and even urinated in her bed.
Monica confronted Anthony and eventually told him she no longer wanted to see him. She recalled how "he started snapping" when she told him to collect his belongings and leave. Robinson later stayed at a motel in nearby Harrisburg and reportedly offered White USD 500 to visit him. But she refused.
White later spotted him outside the motel while driving past and said he appeared completely different. She shared in her PEOPLE interview:
"He looked like a totally different man. Something snapped in him. I don't know whether he was doing drugs, and ended up totally flipping out. It was like I seen a ghost, a monster."
The terrifying truth emerged months later. Robinson was arrested in November 2021 after investigators connected him to the deaths of Allene 'Beth' Redmon and Tonita Smith in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Police alleged that Robinson met women through dating platforms and used hotel rooms before their bodies were later found near shopping carts. The nickname 'Shopping Cart Killer' came from investigators' allegations that Robinson used shopping carts to transport victims' bodies.
When White's cousin showed her Robinson's mugshot, she immediately recognized him. She recalled, "Once I started putting the puzzle together, of course, when the pieces fit, they fit." She later admitted that learning about the allegations left her struggling with guilt and fear. White wondered whether rejecting Robinson had somehow contributed to his rage, although there is no evidence that her decision caused his later crimes.
In 2025, Anthony Robinson was convicted of killing two women named Allene Redmon and Tonita Smith. The charges included aggravated murder, first-degree murder and concealing dead bodies. He was later sentenced to life imprisonment plus additional time. Authorities have also investigated Robinson's possible connection to other women's deaths, including Stephanie Harrison, Cheyenne Brown, Sonya Champ and Skye Allen.
After recognizing how dangerous Robinson could be, Monica White severed all ties with him and escaped a relationship that could have ended very differently. Her narrow escape is the most important part of the disturbing true-crime tale of the movie.
The Dating App Killer: The Monica White Story, starring Lela Rochon as 'Monica' and Jarod Joseph as 'Robinson', is available for streaming on Netflix.
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