(Ben Sellers, Headline USA) Even as President Donald Trump’s federal takeover of Washington, D.C., has yielded strong results in bringing down violent crime, the murder of a beloved local makeup artist—allegedly by her own son—over the weekend shook the conservative mediasphere.
Newsmax’s Travis Renee Baldwin, 57, was shot and killed Sunday morning at her apartment in Arlington, Va., just across the Potomac River from D.C., by her son, 27-year-old Logan Chrisinger, the New York Post reported.
Chrisinger remained at the scene and has since been charged with first-degree murder, aggravated malicious wounding and using a firearm in the commission of a felony. He is being held without bond at the Arlington County Detention Facility.
No details as to the motive were immediately available, although some reports indicated that Chrisinger may have lived in the apartment with his mother.
Baldwin, a native of nearby Winchester, Va., had worked at Newsmax for more than three years, according to “The Record” host Greta Van Susteren, who offered tribute to her friend and colleague Tuesday in a post on X.
“[S]he 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.
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…
— Greta Van Susteren (@greta) August 19, 2025
Baldwin previously worked for ABC and for the ESPN show “Pardon the Interruption.”
Other conservative figures, such as Amber Duke, a Newsmax personality and senior editor at the Daily Caller, also paid tribute on social media.
“She was a kind, generous, funny woman who always brightened the day of anyone who sat in her chair,” Duke wrote. “Fridays at Newsmax were something I looked forward to because I knew we’d get to gossip, talk about our upcoming travel plans, our pets, and any good wines we were drinking.”
Renee did my makeup at Newsmax for the past 1.5 years and sometimes did fill-in shifts at Rising. The news of her murder was such a shock. She was a kind, generous, funny woman who always brightened the day of anyone who sat in her chair. Fridays at Newsmax were something I… https://t.co/DTp6OebUf3
— Amber Duke (@ambermarieduke) August 19, 2025
Newsmax White House producer Marisela Ramirez said Baldwin was selfless and playful.
“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 wrote.
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.
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.… pic.twitter.com/lgPI2dsxNy
— Marisela Ramirez (@mariselapenny) August 19, 2025
Ben Sellers is a freelance writer and former editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/realbensellers.
