Valentine’s season usually means roses, chocolates, and sweeping love stories. Lifetime is heading in the opposite direction. The network’s newest true-crime thriller, The Dating App Killer: The Monica White Story, turns a search for romance into a nightmare. Inspired by real events, the film follows a woman who trusted her gut, survived a terrifying encounter, and later realized she may have crossed paths with a murderer.
With powerhouse talent in front of and behind the camera, and a case that still haunts communities across the Mid-Atlantic, the movie lands as one of the network’s most unsettling recent releases.
A Survivor at the Center of the Story
In the dramatization, Lela Rochon plays Monica White, a mother ready to reclaim her personal life after sending her son to military school. When she meets Anthony Robinson online, he seems charming, attentive, and genuine, the kind of connection many hope to find through dating apps.
But as Lifetime’s synopsis makes clear, the promise of romance quickly curdles into dread. Monica invites Anthony to meet in person, unaware that he carries a secret capable of destroying lives. After her birthday celebration, his behavior becomes threatening, forcing Monica to rely on instinct to get him out before things spiral further.
As news of murders spreads through her community, Monica begins to fear the man she let into her home might be responsible. The realization reframes everything she experienced.
Who Was Anthony Robinson?
The film’s antagonist is based on Anthony Eugene Robinson, a man convicted of murder in Virginia in 2021.
Robinson became widely known as the “Shopping Cart Killer,” a nickname drawn from investigators’ claims that he used carts to move victims’ bodies. Surveillance footage, as cited by local reporting, showed him entering a hotel room in Harrisonburg with Allene “Beth” Redmon in October 2021 and with Tonita Smith the following month. In both cases, he later exited with a cart covered by a sheet, and the women’s remains were discovered on a nearby hillside.
Authorities have linked or examined potential connections between Robinson and additional deaths in Fairfax County, Washington, D.C., and Prince George’s County, Maryland.
Following a January 2025 trial, a jury found him guilty in the Harrisonburg killings, recommending multiple life sentences plus additional penalties. Sentencing is scheduled for later this year.
Monica White’s Real Encounter
The real Monica White later spoke publicly about her experiences, describing several alarming visits after meeting Robinson on the dating app Tagged.
When he traveled to see her in early 2021, she said his behavior during intimate moments immediately raised red flags. She recalled resisting his attempts to restrain her and remembered him grabbing her neck. He also talked about moving in, something she felt was far too fast.
On another visit around her birthday, the situation became even more disturbing, culminating in an incident she found shocking and humiliating. She ended the relationship soon after.
Robinson later tried to persuade her to come to a motel by offering money. She refused. The last time she saw him, she said, he appeared like a different person, someone she barely recognized.
After his arrest months later, seeing his mugshot forced her to reconsider everything. She wondered whether rejecting him might have triggered something darker, a thought that added another layer of trauma to an already frightening chapter.
Bringing the Story to Screen
Joining Rochon, Jarod Joseph portrays Robinson.
The movie is directed by Elisabeth Röhm and written by Miriam van Emst and David Weaver. Production comes from Navid Soofi for PF Birch Productions Inc., in association with Rohm Feifer Entertainment and Studio TF1 America, with several of those principals also serving as executive producers.
The creative team leans into the tension of hindsight, the horror of realizing the charming man from a dating profile might have been capable of unimaginable violence.
How to Watch The Dating App Killer: The Monica White Story?
The Dating App Killer: The Monica White Story premiered on Lifetime on Saturday, Feb. 14, at 8 p.m. ET. If you missed the live broadcast, you still have several ways to catch the movie on TV or stream it on demand.
Cord-cutters can tune in through live-TV platforms that carry Lifetime, including DIRECTV, which offers a five-day trial period and access to both live programming and recordings through its cloud DVR features.
Philo also includes Lifetime in its channel lineup and often runs introductory discounts for new subscribers, though it currently does not offer a free trial.
Another option is Sling TV, where availability depends on the package you choose, with periodic promotions for first-time customers.
Viewers looking for a trial-based option can check out Fubo, which provides access to Lifetime along with a broader mix of entertainment, news, and sports channels.
If you already subscribe to cable or satellite, you can sign in with your provider credentials and stream the film through Lifetime’s official live and on-demand platforms.
A Different Kind of Valentine’s Movie
Instead of escapist romance, Lifetime is offering a cautionary tale about vulnerability, intuition, and survival.
For Monica White, listening to that inner alarm may have saved her life. Now, her experience becomes a dramatized reminder of how quickly digital connections can turn dangerous, and how powerful it can be to walk away in time.
