Tagged Killer Murders
Written by: Kenzie Desrosiers
In the fall of 2016, Khalil Wheeler-Weaver killed three women and attempted to kill a fourth. He lured these women using dating apps and a social media app Tagged, then he strangled them and left their bodies in remote locations.
In late August 2016, 19-year-old Robin West told her family she was headed to New Jersey to celebrate her 20th birthday. When West stopped responding, her family grew concerned. On August 31, West was last seen getting into a vehicle belonging to 20-year-old security guard Khalil Wheeler-Weaver.
The following day, local firefighters responded to a blaze at an abandoned home in Orange. Upon entering the home, they discovered charred remains. Due to the state of remains, it took two weeks to positivity identify them as West using dental records.
Meanwhile, when police spoke with Wheeler-Weaver regarding the missing person, he stated that he dropped her off at an abandoned home less than two blocks from where West was discovered. West had been strangled to death, set on fire, and left at the abandoned home. Cellphone location tracking put Wheeler-Weaver at the abandoned home before the fire. After driving away, he circled back to watch the firefighters battle the blaze.
Less than two months later, another woman vanished after being seen getting into Wheeler-Weaver’s vehicle. On December 5, 20-year-old Joanne Brown’s body was discovered in an abandoned home. Her nose and mouth were covered by duct tape and a jacket was tied around her neck. The abandoned home was less than a mile from where Wheeler-Weaver lived, and Brown last spoke with a friend using his phone.
On November 15, 2016, Tiffany Taylor, went to authorities regarding a narrow escape from Wheeler-Weaver. At the time of the attack, Taylor was far along in her pregnancy, homeless and in need of money. Unable to get a motel room, they were about to part ways when she was struck in the head. When she woke up, Wheeler-Weaver had handcuffed her, covered her mouth with duct tape, and raped her in the back of his vehicle. During the assault, he repeatedly strangled her until she lost consciousness.
After the assault, Taylor convinced Wheeler-Weaver to drive her back to her motel where she called 911. Unfortunately, the Elizabeth Police Department did not believe her.
A week later, on November 22, 20-year-old New Jersey City University student Sarah Butler went missing. While home for Thanksgiving break, Butler met Wheeler-Weaver on a social media app Tagged. After Butler cancels their plans, Wheeler-Weaver offered her $500 for sex, she agreed. An hour before her death, she texted “You’re not a serial killer, right?”
When Butler failed to return home, her family became alarmed. Friends logged into her social media accounts to find answers. After creating a fake profile to lure Wheeler-Weaver, they went to the Montclair Police and together they created a sting operation. Five days before Wheeler-Weaver met with undercover officers, Butler’s remains were discovered under branches and debris in Eagle Rock Reservation.
After his arrest, police found three cellphones: two on the nightstand and one under the mattress.
At trial, the prosecutors revealed how Wheeler-Weaver searched ways to create drugs to knock people unconscious using household cleaners to make poisons and deleting evidence. When Wheeler-Weaver address the court he said, “I do feel sympathy for the victims. My heart goes out to the families and friends… However, I was not the person who committed these crimes.” In December 2019, he was found guilty of all 11 charges including three counts of murder, desecration of human remains, attempted murder, two counts of aggravated sexual assault, aggravated arson, and kidnapping. In 2021, he was sentenced to 160 years in prison. Wheeler-Weaver intends to file an appeal on his conviction, citing he was framed, “I was set up, I was lied on and framed by the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.”
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