White’s experience dating a future serial killer inspired Lifetime’s “The Dating App Killer: The Monica White Story,” now streaming on Netflix.

Where is Monica White now? The true story behind The Dating App Killer

White’s experience dating a future serial killer inspired Lifetime’s “The Dating App Killer: The Monica White Story,” now streaming on Netflix.

August 21, 2026 11:24 a.m. ET

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Monica White poses outside her home on Sept. 9, 2022, in Mechanicsburg, Pa. Credit:

Ricky Carioti/Getty

- Monica White briefly dated Anthony Robinson, whom she met on a dating app.

- Robinson was arrested in November 2021 and charged with murdering two women. He has also been investigated in connection with at least four other deaths.

- White’s experience inspired the Lifetime movie *The Dating App Killer: The Monica White Story*, which has become a hit on Netflix.

What happens when you discover that the man you dated went on to murder multiple women? Ask Monica White.

The then-53-year-old single mother had been divorced for three years when she met Anthony Robinson on a dating app called Tagged in late 2020. Robinson told White that he was the father of a young daughter, a former preschool teacher, and working in waste management. “I thought he was normal,” White said in a 2024 interview with PEOPLE.

Their messages evolved into video chats, and in January 2021, Robinson paid White a visit. Despite initially noticing what she called “red flags,” White continued talking with Robinson, who returned for her birthday in February 2021. During that visit, Robinson behaved inappropriately and made White and her family uncomfortable, so she told him to leave.

Later that year, White learned that Robinson had been arrested in connection with the deaths of two women and was suspected of killing others. Robinson was ultimately convicted of murdering two women in 2025 and sentenced to two life terms plus 10 years in 2026.

Her experience inspired the recent Lifetime movie *The Dating App Killer: The Monica White Story*, in which White is portrayed by Lela Rochon (1995’s *Waiting to Exhale*). The movie reached a new audience when it was released on Netflix in August, renewing interest in White’s story.

Here’s everything you need to know about White, what happened to her, and where she is now.

Who is Monica White?

Monica White was a 53-year-old mother living outside Harrisburg, Pa., when she met Robinson, who was about 35 at the time, on the dating app Tagged. In an interview with *The Washington Post*, White recalled the first message she received from Robinson: “Hi beautiful. I’d like to get to know you better.”

Over the course of their messages and video chats, White said Robinson told her that he had never been married, that he had a son who died at age 2, and that he had a 5- or 6-year-old daughter. “He seemed to have an attachment to me, so he would call me every day,” White told the *Post*. Robinson also told her that he liked older women because they were mature.

“From the video calls, I couldn’t tell who he was as a person,” White told PEOPLE. “What he seemed like on the video calls was just a young man trying to make money.” In January 2021, White and Robinson decided to meet in person. Robinson traveled from Harrisonburg, Va., to spend the weekend at White’s home, where they watched movies, ordered food, and White introduced him to her adult son.

“There were things that went up as red flags at the first visit,” White recalled. “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.”

What happened between Monica White and Anthony Robinson?

Anthony Robinson.

Harrisonburg Police Department via AP

As White told PEOPLE, Robinson’s first visit was troubling. She said he expressed a desire to move in with her, but she told him he was “moving too fast.” White also said that Robinson displayed disturbing behavior in the bedroom. “He tried to tie me up,” White alleged. “But I wouldn’t let him. I was like, ‘I’m not into it.’ He pulled my arms behind my back and then grabbed me by my neck.”

She additionally told the *Post* that Robinson showed her a scar on his stomach, which he claimed was from being stabbed. White said Robinson told her that if anyone tried to attack him with a knife again, he would kill them. White also said that Robinson revealed he had been previously engaged to a woman who died. Her name was Skye Allen, and she died on Feb. 14, 2018, at age 30. According to a copy of her death certificate obtained by the *Post*, Allen died from a fatal cardiac arrhythmia.

Although Robinson’s behavior concerned White, she agreed to let him visit again in February 2021 for her birthday. She said Robinson arrived a week early, having purchased a one-way bus ticket. According to PEOPLE, Robinson told her he had job offers in the area. White separately told the *Post* that Robinson said he would need to find work to earn enough money for his return trip.

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At White’s birthday party, she said Robinson’s behavior took another dark turn. “He was drinking. Then not only that, harassing the kids, flirting with the boys,” she told PEOPLE, referring to her adult son and the teenage son of a friend. (A cousin of White’s who was also at the party confirmed the inappropriate comments to the *Post*.)

White said that she did not want to have sex with Robinson again following his previous visit. “He peed in my bed on my birthday. I could not believe it,” she said. After White told Robinson she no longer wanted to be in a relationship with him, she said he “started snapping,” and she told him to leave. She gave him $20 to get to the train, but White said he instead went to a gas station and called her cousins to complain about her.

Unfortunately, the ordeal didn’t end there. White said that Robinson relocated to a nearby motel in Harrisburg, Pa., where he continued messaging her. At one point, White said Robinson asked her to go to his motel room and told her, “I will give you whatever you want.” He allegedly offered her $500, but White declined.

She said that she saw Robinson one more time about a month later, outside the motel. “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,” White said. “It was like I seen a ghost, a monster.”

What did Anthony Robinson do?

Harrisonburg, Va. Police Chief Kelley Warner discusses murder charges against Anthony Robinson at a press conference on Dec. 17, 2021 in Fairfax, Va.

Matthew Barakat/AP Photo

Robinson was arrested in November 2021 after police found the bodies of 54-year-old Allene “Beth” Redmon and 39-year-old Tonita Smith in a vacant lot near the motel where Robinson was staying in Harrisonburg, Va. Although their remains were discovered near each other, the women were killed at different times. According to local police, cell records and surveillance footage tied Robinson to the victims. Footage later shown in court depicted him transporting what appeared to be their bodies in a shopping cart.

Robinson was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two felony counts of concealing, transporting, or altering a dead body. In December 2021, police announced that they were investigating Robinson in connection with two more deaths. One victim was believed to be 29-year-old Cheyenne Brown, while the other was later identified as 48-year-old Stephanie Harrison. Their remains were discovered in a trash can in a vacant lot near the motel where Robinson had stayed around the time the women disappeared.

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By January 2022, Robinson was being investigated for his possible involvement in the death of 40-year-old Sonya Champ, whose body was discovered in a shopping cart on Sept. 7, 2021, in Washington, D.C. Later that year, officials announced that they were reviewing the 2018 death of Robinson’s former fiancée, Skye Allen.

At a preliminary hearing in September 2022, Harrisonburg Detective Brooke Wetherell testified that Robinson denied killing Redmon and Smith. Robinson claimed that both women died of drug overdoses while he was asleep. When he woke up and found them dead, he said, he panicked and disposed of their bodies.

Following numerous delays, Robinson’s case finally went to trial in January 2025. Robinson pleaded not guilty and did not testify at trial. His defense attorney, Louis Nagy, had previously told PEOPLE that Robinson had a history of mental illness dating back to at least 2014. At trial, the defense maintained that prosecutors could not prove Robinson murdered Redmon and Smith.

The jury found Robinson guilty on two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of concealing a body, and two counts of aggravated murder. In May 2026, Robinson was sentenced to two life sentences for the aggravated murders of Redmon and Smith, plus 10 years for concealing their bodies.

Where is Monica White now?

Monica White poses outside her home on Sept. 9, 2022, in Mechanicsburg, Pa.

Ricky Carioti/Getty

After learning of Robinson’s arrest, White was understandably shocked. “It really rocked my world,” White told the *Post*. “I went into a depression.”

Naturally, she reflected on her brief relationship with Robinson. “Once I started putting the puzzle together, of course, when the pieces fit, they fit,” she explained to PEOPLE. White also wondered whether rejecting Robinson might have triggered him in some way. “I felt like I might’ve been the reason why he might have snapped,” she said. “I had actually allowed this man into my home, allowed him to stay overnight in my home. Then to find out later on, you started killing people? He’s an insane, weird, crazy person. Something snapped.”

As of 2024, White said she had still not used a dating app since her experience with Robinson. She also had a different perspective on relationships. “I don’t need a man to love myself. I had to learn that. In order to make myself happy, I didn’t need a man. All I needed was God,” White said. “I don’t need to search for love. Love will find me. I’m patient now.”

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Source: “EW Crime”