Maximum sentence imposed

Tony Robinson was sentenced to 60 years in prison for fatally stabbing Anat Kimchi in the Loop in 2021. It was the maximum penalty allowed.

A judge condemns it

Cook County Judge John F. Lyke Jr. called the killing senseless and brutal. He said Kimchi had hoped to improve the justice system she studied.

“heinous, senseless and brutal crime”

A strange hearing

The sentencing hearing mixed grief, testimony and Robinson's own rambling remarks. He had fired his public defenders and represented himself.

Another attack described

Nicole Ferguson testified that Robinson attacked her six days before Kimchi was killed. She said he struck her with a sock filled with rocks.

“Are you following me, b?”

The conviction came first

A jury convicted Robinson in May of murdering Kimchi, a 31-year-old University of Maryland doctoral student visiting a friend in Chicago.

A sunny afternoon

Kimchi was walking near South Wacker Drive, looking for a place to sit and read. Robinson came up behind her and stabbed her in the neck and back.

Her mother speaks

Chava Kimchi-Sarfaty described the morning calls she used to share with her daughter. Since the killing, her nights have been filled with last-minute fears and unanswered questions.

“I miss this morning call so much.”

A future erased

Kimchi's mother said weddings and births now bring fresh pain. They remind her of the aisle she will not walk and the grandchildren she will not hold.

Her father remembers

Avraham Kimchi read a poem and said the family would carry on Anat's work. He said her loved ones and colleagues remain tied to her mission.

Her brother's fear

Ofer Kimchi said the murder changed how he moves through the world. He struggles to teach his son safety when he no longer feels it himself.

“I rarely feel safe anymore.”

A scholar of fairness

Kimchi studied how race and ethnicity shaped probation conditions. Her work found Black probationers were more likely to face tougher rules and more violations.

A doctorate after death

Kimchi had already earned two undergraduate degrees and a master's. Two weeks after she was killed, the University of Maryland awarded her doctorate posthumously.

Part of a pattern

The attack was among several downtown violence cases reviewed by the Sun-Times. Robinson had lived in a tent on Lower Wacker Drive.

Warning signs recorded

Police and court records described prior arrests and strange behavior. Robinson had told detectives he believed people tracked him with cellphones.

Trial without murder video

Prosecutors did not have footage of the stabbing itself. They showed clips of Robinson trailing Kimchi, fleeing with a knife, throwing something in the river and changing shirts.

A witness called 911

Another homeless man testified that he saw the attack and called police. He later confronted Robinson at his tent, where Robinson threatened him with a knife.

Robinson denies guilt

Robinson told the court he was the victim and dismissed the hearing as theater. His remarks ranged across religion, literature and politics.

“the only victim that I know about right here is me”

No remorse shown

Prosecutor Anna Sedelmaier said Robinson showed no remorse. She framed Kimchi's death as a loss felt far beyond her family.

“On a beautiful day, he stole her life.”