Vegan chef sentenced to death for Christmas 2017 slayings of wife and kids

PHOENIX -- A 54-year-old man has been sentenced to death for the Christmas 2017 murders of his estranged wife and two children.

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office announced that on May 7, Anthony Milan Ross was sentenced to death. He was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of class 2 aggravated assault, and 18 counts of class 3 aggravated assault. In addition to the death sentence, Ross was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the aggravated assault charges.

On Christmas Day, 2017, Ross’ ex-wife Iris Ross, 38, went to his apartment to pick up their children, 8-month-old Anora and 11-year-old Nigel. According to the attorney’s office, an argument in the parking lot over their marriage escalated when Iris Ross said she was not interested in getting back together. Ross then shot her multiple times when she tried to run away and then went back into his apartment where he fatally shot both children. 

Iris Ross’ sister later told police that she got a text from Ross that stated he had just killed his estranged wife and children. She said, “I knew that man was very unstable. I knew he had a very, very dark side. ... I didn’t know it was this dark.”

When police arrived, a standoff lasted several hours, and Ross told officers he would kill his children if law enforcement came in. When authorities entered, Ross fired his weapon at them repeatedly until he ran out of ammunition.

According to Arizona’s Family, prosecutors argued at trial that Ross’ motive was that Iris Ross had filed for divorce six months prior. The defense argued that the killings were not premeditated, and Ross had been battling depression and had been drinking that on the day they occurred. The jury’s decision on the death penalty was unanimous.

People reports Ross was a vegan chef and motivational speaker. On the day before the murders, he reportedly recorded an Instagram video with his son singing “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.”

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