Four years after Anthony Robinson’s arrest, Monica White has largely stayed out of the spotlight. Her story, however, is back in the news with the release of Netflix’s The Dating App Killer: The Monica White Story.The 86-minute Lifetime feature stars Lela Rochon as Monica and revisits the frightening encounter between White and Robinson, a man she met through a dating app in 2021. What initially appeared to be a chance at companionship took a disturbing turn, and White eventually walked away from the relationship.Robinson was later arrested in connection with the murders of several women he had met online, turning what had been a deeply unsettling personal experience for White into part of a much larger criminal investigation.
Monica White’s life before meeting Anthony Robinson
White, then 53, was going through a difficult divorce near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in 2020. Like many people looking for companionship after a major life change, she turned to dating apps, including Tagged.That’s where she met Robinson.In an account shared with The Washington Post in 2022, White recalled that Robinson initially approached her with compliments and said he wanted to get to know her. He told her that he had previously worked as a preschool teacher, was now in waste management and had a young daughter.Their conversations soon moved from messages to video calls. But even then, White said she didn’t feel she knew much about him. She also noticed that many of his conversations centred on her appearance.Eventually, the two met in person.
The relationship quickly became uncomfortable
Robinson travelled to White’s home in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, in 2021. According to White, his behaviour in person was very different from what she had expected based on their online conversations.She recalled him telling her not to judge him too quickly and saying that he didn’t like rejection. At the time, White said she saw those comments as warning signs.Still, she gave him another chance.The relationship became intimate, but White later described several encounters as disturbing. She alleged that Robinson behaved aggressively during sex and that, after she refused further intimacy, he watched her while she slept.She also alleged that he tried to restrain her and put his hands around her throat. White said she didn’t initially believe he intended to kill her, but his behaviour seemed increasingly unpredictable.Things became even more uncomfortable when Robinson asked about moving into her home. White felt it was far too soon.
A dispute eventually ended the relationship
At White’s birthday celebration in 2021, she said Robinson drank heavily, made guests uncomfortable and behaved inappropriately. She also alleged that he urinated in her bed after she refused to have sex with him.That was enough for White to end the relationship.She gave Robinson $20 for transportation and expected him to leave. Instead, according to White, he went to a petrol station and spent the night calling members of her family.He later checked into a motel in Harrisburg and continued contacting her, asking to meet and even offering her money. White refused.She later saw him outside the motel and noticed that he looked different.
Then came the arrest
About eight months after their first meeting, Robinson was arrested in connection with the deaths of Allene “Beth” Redmon and Tonita Smith.Their remains were discovered in a field near a motel in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Investigators reportedly found video footage showing Robinson with the women and later leaving the area with a shopping cart.A month later, the bodies of Cheyenne Brown and Stephanie Harrison were discovered in a vacant lot near a hotel in Alexandria, Virginia.In December 2021, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said investigators believed Robinson had killed four people and that there could be additional victims.For White, the news was horrifying.She told PEOPLE that learning about the killings made her look back at her own encounters with Robinson differently. She also wondered whether rejecting him had played any role in what happened afterwards, although there is no indication that she was responsible for his later actions.
Where is Monica White now?
White has kept a relatively low profile since the case came to light.After learning about Robinson’s arrest and the allegations against him, she said she stopped using dating apps. By 2024, she had told PEOPLE that she wasn’t actively looking for a relationship and had come to feel that she didn’t need a partner to feel complete.Instead, she said she found happiness in herself and her faith.So, four years after Robinson’s arrest, White appears to have chosen a quieter life away from dating apps and the public eye. The Netflix film has now brought her story back into the spotlight, but much of her life today remains private.
What happened to Anthony Robinson?
Robinson was convicted in 2025 of the murders of Redmon and Smith. In 2026, he received two life sentences along with an additional 10 years and fines of about $205,000, according to Rocktown Now.He also remains a suspect in the deaths of Brown and Harrison, as well as Sonya Champ and her former fiancée, Skye Allen.For White, what began as an attempt to find companionship online became an experience that changed how she viewed relationships and personal safety. Her decision to step away from dating apps was, by her own account, one of the lasting consequences of that encounter.
