Veteran journalist Greta Van Susteren announced on X that her longtime Newsmax colleague and makeup artist was killed.
The victim had worked with Van Susteren for three and a half years and previously held positions with ABC and ESPN. Van Susteren called her a close and trusted friend. She said their last conversation had been just days before the murder.
“What sadness….my Newsmax make up artist of 3 1/2 years, and years at @ABC @espn etc and a friend to all of her colleagues…was murdered over the weekend…she did my make up Friday for the show and of course I never dreamed that would be the last time I would see her…” Van Susteren wrote.
The hair and makeup artist, Travis Renee Baldwin, 57, was allegedly shot to death by her 27-year-old son, Logan Chrisinger, inside her Arlington, Virginia, apartment just before 8:30 a.m. Sunday, The New York Post reported.
She was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she died, according to officials.
Chrisinger remained at the scene after the shooting and is being held without bond at Arlington County Detention Facility.
He has been charged with first-degree murder, aggravated malicious wounding, and using a firearm in the commission of a felony.
The murder has sparked renewed discussions about rising crime across the nation.
Many pointed to America’s biggest cities as examples of where stronger law enforcement is needed.
A 2023 report from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics found workplace homicides have risen 30 percent since 2019.
Experts said the surge shows progressive policies have failed to address violent crime, especially in urban areas.
Critics have also blamed lenient sentencing, cuts to police funding, and the immigration policies of the Biden era.
They argue that those decisions have fueled spiking crime rates that Americans are still facing the consequences of today.
In her post, Van Susteren urged the capture of the killer.
Replies to her message included prayers for justice and calls for accountability.
Newsmax White House producer Marisela Ramirez also mourned the loss.
“3 beautiful, smiling women on the way out from work some time ago. Heaven’s newest angel sits perched in the middle, Renne Travis Baldwin,” she said.
“I’m sure many friends and friends of friends in our industry have come into contact with Renee if you’ve ever been in need of H&MU. Renee had a giving heart and a gypsy spirit but really she was a quiet warrior, supporting her family and carrying the weight of a household on her shoulders—without complaints,” Ramirez said.
“Still she always asked others how they were doing: ‘how was your move?’, ‘how is your love life’, and well timed ‘how are yous’, always keen to listen without judgement. She’d play with your hair while you spoke of something difficult and treat you with the gentleness of a mother,” she said.
“She’d give advice and gleam at you with her twinkly eyes that let you know she genuinely cared. Her spirit and joyous laugh will be deeply missed, her penchant for remembering birthdays irreplaceable; and her heart never gotten. May God guide your soul into his kingdom and bring you peace, Renee. You are loved and will be missed,” she said.