A chef from Arizona was sentenced to death after posting a video of himself and his son performing a carol on Christmas Day just hours before he massacred his family.
On Christmas Day in 2017, Anthony Milan Ross shot and killed his estranged wife Iris, their 11-year-old son Nigel, and their eight-month-old daughter Anora in Phoenix.
A video of Ross and his son performing “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” and wishing his fans a merry holiday was posted just hours before the outburst.
Six months prior, Ross, a TV personality who featured on Good Morning America, had divorced his wife.
She told him she wouldn’t take him back after they talked about their failed marriage when she arrived to get the kids from his flat that evening.
According to investigators, Ross began fire on her as she attempted to flee, and after she hit the ground, he fired multiple shots into her.
After killing his two children in his flat, he started a six-hour standoff with the local police.
After being convicted guilty of three charges of first-degree murder in November of last year, a jury sentenced the defendants to death on Thursday.
Just hours before he killed his kid, Ross posted this video of himself and his son Nigel to Facebook.
Investigators said that when his wife Iris, who is pictured above with their two kids, showed up at his Phoenix flat to pick them up, she informed him that she would never accept him back.
After being convicted guilty of the crimes in November of last year, a jury sentenced the defendant to death on three charges of first-degree murder on Thursday.
According to the prosecution, his son attempted to protect himself from his father by raising his hand.
Ross was observed walking back to the parking lot and searching his ex-wife’s pants pockets after killing their two children.
Two witnesses came up to him and asked if she was okay. He said that she wasn’t, then pointed a gun at them, making them run away.
Officers entered the flat after a few hours, and Ross shot at them repeatedly until his ammunition ran out.
During his trial, prosecutors said that Ross’s world fell apart after Iris filed for divorce because he was fixated on being famous.
Prosecutors claim that his modest celebrity lifestyle, which included producing a book on his vegan lifestyle, was financed by his ex-wife.
According to the prosecution, his son attempted to protect himself from his father by raising his hand.
His attorneys maintained that the murders were not planned and that he was sad at the time.
Defence lawyers maintained that the murders were not planned and that Ross was experiencing melancholy and paranoia at the time.
Ross was convicted on all charges, including two instances of aggravated assault, eighteen counts of aggravated assault, and three counts of first-degree murder.
In addition to the death penalty, he was sentenced to 18 years in jail on the aggravated assault charges.
“This defendant was supposed to protect his family; instead, he made a deliberate choice to take their lives on Christmas Day when his wife wouldn’t take him back,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in a statement.The severity of what he committed is reflected in his sentence today, and he deserves the harshest punishment.
