Man accused of killing Phoenix woman; 3 small kids left with body
Jul 16, 2021, 10:25 AM | Updated: Jul 17, 2021, 11:44 pm
Andre Daniels (Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Photo)
(Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Photo)
PHOENIX – A man was arrested Thursday for allegedly killing a Phoenix woman and leaving her three young children alone with her body for nearly a week after the murder, according to authorities.
Andre Deonn Daniels, 30, was taken into custody in Tempe and booked into Maricopa County Jail for first-degree murder, weapons violations and child abuse, the Phoenix Police Department said Friday morning in a press release.
Court documents indicate that 30-year-old Shavone Robinson was probably dead for five days when her body was found with multiple stab wounds by police making a welfare check on May 17.
Her 4-week-old baby and two other small children were at the apartment near 19th Avenue and Camelback Road the whole time, and they were dehydrated and starving when police found them, according to court documents. The baby had multiple skull fractures and bleeding on the brain.
Robinson also had a 6-year-old child who was staying with a family friend at the time of the murder.
Investigators learned that Daniels was the infant’s father and he’d tried to get Robinson to have an abortion, according to the probable cause statement. Google records showed that Robinson had recently been searching for information about paternity testing and how to apply for child support.
Surveillance video showed a man entering the apartment on May 12 and leaving about 20 minutes later, according to the probable cause statement. Nobody else was seen entering or leaving the unit until Robinson was found dead five days later.
Investigators connected Daniels to the scene on May 12 through cellphone and social media data. His phone was turned off shortly after and never turned back on, according to the probable cause statement.
Surveillance video also showed an SUV driving away from the area matching the location from Daniels’ phone records. Daniels owned a GMC Yukon matching the description of the SUV in the video but sold it on May 13, according to the probable cause statement.
Officers discovered the crime scene while responding to a call about two children crying on an apartment porch.
The officers saw the two toddlers, ages 2 and 3, on a second-floor balcony, and nobody answered the door, according to the probable cause statement.
They used a ladder to reach the balcony and enter the apartment, where they found the victim’s body and the baby.
Daniels was arrested near Kyrene and Guadalupe roads and is being held on $3 million bail. His status conference was scheduled for July 22 and preliminary hearing for July 26.
