A celebrity chef from Arizona has been convicted of of killing his wife and children on Christmas Day in 2017, shortly after he shared a video online of his son singing carols.
Anthony Milan Ross, 53, was found guilty by a Maricopa County jury on three counts of first-degree murder in connection with deaths of his estranged wife, Iris, and their two young kids, 11-year-old Nigel and 10-month-old Anora, AZ Family reported. He killed his family on Dec. 25, 2017, when Iris — who had filed for divorce just six month prior — showed up at his apartment to pick up the kids, prosecutors said.
Witnesses told investigators they saw Ross gun down Iris before dashing back into his home. By the time authorities arrived on the scene around 4 p.m., Ross had barricaded himself inside the apartment and Iris was already dead on the patio. After a seven-hour standoff, authorities forced entry and found both Nigel and Anora dead inside the residence.
Ross, a television vegan chef and cookbook author, was also found guilty on three counts of aggravated assault related to the killings and another 17 counts of aggravated assault on a peace officer, because he opened fire as they stormed the apartment, injuring one of them. Ross eventually surrendered to authorities after a brief shootout, police said.
Prior to the deadly violence, Ross enjoyed Christmas Eve with his two children, sharing clips online of him and Nigel laughing and singing carols together.
“I’m smiling and hanging out with Nigel on Christmas Eve, and we’re about to embarrass ourselves,” Ross said in the video posted on Facebook hours before the killings. “We’re gonna sing!”
They go on to perform “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” and then “Merry Christmas!”
Ross, who faces life in prison or death by lethal injection or the gas chamber, is slated to be sentenced at the end of January.
