Day 5: Trial of Maxwell Anderson

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The fifth day of the Maxwell Anderson trial resumed Monday, June 2. In court, Maxwell Anderson's downstairs neighbor testified, and we heard emotional testimony from a medical examiner who spoke about the multiple examinations of Sade Robinson's recovered body parts. 

Peter Worbington, Anderson's neighbor, asked the court to not be shown on video. He said often Anderson's upstairs unit would sound like a construction zone when he'd come home from work because of all the power tools he'd use on home improvement projects. 

He also said Anderson would often have people over making noise as early as 5 a.m. 

Worbington said he could hear a lot in the house, even Anderson's dog chewing a bone. 

But Worbington said it was so quiet in the house in the two weeks before Robinson's disappearance that he actually thought Anderson was out of town. 

The night Robinson went back to Anderson's house, Worbington said he heard no noise, no screaming, no struggling, and no power tools. 

"I did not hear anything at one in the morning," said Peter Worbington, Anderson's neighbor. "The only thing that I heard was what I thought to be a suitcase or something coming down, like I said, at 5:30 in the morning, six o'clock in the morning...all I know is that something large is being transported down the stairs at approximately 5:30 to 6 a.m. I cannot testify and say I knew what it was."

It's important to note: the state says Anderson was out of the house at that time, though his neighbor -- Peter Worbington -- could not confirm the day. 

PHOTO GALLERY

After he testified, Dr. Lauren Decker -- an assistant medical examiner -- spoke about the autopsies performed on Robinson's remains. 

Some jurors covered their mouths as photos were shown, but they remained attentive and took notes. 

Anderson watched the screen throughout, though some people in the gallery left the room. 

As the body parts were shown, the medical examiner said they found no bleeding, which usually means the cuts were likely made after death. And they spoke about the force it would take to fracture a femur bone. 

Tissue samples were sent for testing; the only chemical found in Robinson's body was caffeine -- not alcohol or illegal drugs. But they were unable to determine a cause of death. 

Lead prosecutor Ian Vance-Curzan: “Were you able to come to anatomic structural cause of death?”

Dr. Decker: "No." 

Lead prosecutor Ian Vance-Curzan: "Why not? Why were you not able to do that?"

Dr. Decker: "The way the body was received in pieces, and partial post in the water. All of that makes it difficult to determine cause of death.

Lead prosecutor Ian Vance-Curzan: "Factoring into that difficulty was the fact that you had never been able to examine her neck and head?”

Dr. Decker: “That’s correct.”

The defense clarified that while determined a homicide, they did not know how it happened. 

A detective took the stand moments before the lunch break and spoke about surveilling Anderson in the days after Robinson‘s disappearance. 

As afternoon testimony got underway, investigators talked about Anderson's arrest just days after Robinson's disappearance.

In body camera video, Anderson asked what was happening; detectives said his registration was out of date. No one mentioned Sade's death during the arrest. A police officer in Illinois briefly spoke about recovering Sade's arm from a beach.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent going through security video in painstaking detail.

Detectives recreated Anderson and Robinson's night, meeting at one bar and then traveling to the next.

Video was shown in court of Anderson and Robinson at Duke's on Water the night of Aprill 1. This was their second stop of the night after meeting at Twisted Fisherman and then leaving together. 

At Duke's, Anderson played a dice game at the bar, went out to smoke, and had more drinks, including shots. Sade did not. 

This was another step in the state's strategy to establish when and where Anderson and Robinson were that night. 

There are still dozens of witnesses on the state's list that have not yet been called. 

We were joined, once again, by Milwaukee attorney Justin Padway Monday evening, to dive deeper into what happened in court. 

You can livestream the trial on our website, YouTube and Facebook page.