18-Year-Old Arrested In Slaying Of Madison Physician, Husband

Dr. Beth Potter And Robin Carre Found Dead Tuesday At UW Arboretum

By
Dr. Beth Potter
Dr. Beth Potter at the Wingra Family Medical Center in 2016. Photo courtesy of UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health.

Police have arrested the man suspected of killing a physician and her husband at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum.

Khari Sanford, 18, is in Dane County Jail and is expected to be charged with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide in the killings of Dr. Beth Potter and her husband, Robin Carre.

In a video message Friday, Chief Kristen Roman, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Department, said Sanford targeted the couple.

Stay informed on the latest news

Sign up for WPR’s email newsletter.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

“The suspect is known to the family and … we believe this was not a random act,” Roman said in a video message. “It was calculated, cold-blooded and senseless, and we will continue to do all we can to bring justice to Robin and Beth, their families and their loved ones.”

Roman didn’t release further information about a possible motive for the killings.

The couple died from “homicidal related trauma,” according to a statement from the Dane County Medical Examiner. A jogger at the Arboretum found the couple Tuesday. Carre was pronounced dead at the scene, Roman said, and Potter died later at a hospital. Potter was 52; Carre was 57.

Their deaths shook the Madison community where both were well-known. Potter was a family physician with Wingra Family Medical Center and an associate professor in the UW-Madison’s Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. Carre was a well-known soccer coach and educational consultant.

“Words cannot express our grief,” said Dr. William Schwab in a statement posted by UW-Madison. “Beth was a dedicated leader … in our health system. She was wise, warm, and always supportive. There are so many in our department whose lives have been touched by Beth; her loss will weigh heavily within us.”

Potter was a medical educator and, since 2016, medical director of employee health services for UW Health. The couple had three children. A Facebook fundraiser for the family this week raised nearly $30,000.

In her statement, Roman called Potter and Carre “remarkable individuals who positively impacted the lives of so many.”

“We are in difficult times right now,” Roman said. “Undoubtedly, this unspeakable crime adds to our community’s anxiety, sadness and feelings of uncertainty. I know that questions about what happened to Beth and Robin remain, and I assure you we will provide as many answers as we can, when we can, as this investigation moves forward.”

[[{“fid”:”959371″,”view_mode”:”full_width”,”fields”:{“format”:”full_width”,”alignment”:””,”field_image_caption[und][0][value]”:”%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3EMary%20Kate%20McCoy%2FWPR%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A”,”field_image_caption[und][0][format]”:”full_html”,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:”UW-Madison Arboretum”,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:”UW-Madison Arboretum”},”type”:”media”,”field_deltas”:{“1”:{“format”:”full_width”,”alignment”:””,”field_image_caption[und][0][value]”:”%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3EMary%20Kate%20McCoy%2FWPR%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A”,”field_image_caption[und][0][format]”:”full_html”,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:”UW-Madison Arboretum”,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:”UW-Madison Arboretum”}},”link_text”:false,”attributes”:{“alt”:”UW-Madison Arboretum”,”title”:”UW-Madison Arboretum”,”class”:”media-element file-full-width”,”data-delta”:”1″}}]]

Give the gift of lifelong learning! Support WPR.

Related Stories