Nov. 10, 2025

"COWARD'S EXIT: HOT CAR DAD KILLS HIMSELF BEFORE PRISON & VEGAN CHEF GUILTY OF CHRISTMAS FAMILY MASSACRE"

"COWARD'S EXIT: HOT CAR DAD KILLS HIMSELF BEFORE PRISON & VEGAN CHEF GUILTY OF CHRISTMAS FAMILY MASSACRE"

Reid Carter exposes how Christopher Scholtes killed himself Tuesday night rather than face 20-30 years for leaving two-year-old Parker to die in hot car while watching porn and playing video games. Found dead Wednesday morning hours before surrendering to custody. His 17-year-old daughter wasn't surprised. Monday, Arizona vegan chef Anthony Milan Ross found guilty of murdering wife Iris and children Nigel, 11, and Anora, 9 months, on Christmas Day 2017. Posted cheerful video singing carols hours before execution-style killings. Google searches for battery acid, sulfuric acid, and families murdered on Christmas. Sentencing January 9, 2026—faces death penalty.

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WEBVTT

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Caaleruga Shark Media. Good morning, I'm Red Carter. Monday November tenth,

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twenty twenty five. Wednesday morning, Phoenix, Arizona, Christopher Schultz, thirty

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eight years old, was supposed to walk into Pima County

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Superior Court and surrender to custody. He'd pleaded guilty to

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second degree murder in October, facing twenty to thirty years

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in prison. Sentencing scheduled for November twenty first, but Sholties

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never showed up because Tuesday night, he took the coward's

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way out killed himself at his one million dollar home,

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found dead around five am Wednesday. The crime he was

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supposed to answer for July ninth, twenty twenty four, scorching

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Arizona summer one hundred nine degrees. Scholtes left his two

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year old daughter, Parker, in the car air conditioning on,

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said he'd be right back, then spent over three hours

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inside drinking beer, playing PlayStation, and watching pornography. The car's

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engine automatically shut off after thirty minutes. He knew it would.

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He'd done it before. Parker roasted to death body temperature

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one hundred eight point nine degrees when paramedics arrived. Now

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he's dead, never served a day in prison. His seventeen

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year old daughter from a previous marriage told her guardian

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she wasn't surprised. I knew he was going to do this,

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she said, now she wants to fight her stepmother for

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custody of her half sisters. And Monday morning, another father

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answered for his crimes. Anthony Milan Ross, fifty three year

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old celebrity vegan chef, found guilty of three counts of

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first degree murder December twenty fifth, twenty seventeen, Christmas Day,

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posted a video that morning singing Santa Claus Is coming

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to town with his eleven year old son Nigel, smiling,

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wishing everyone happy holidays. Hours later, he shot his estranged

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wife Iris outside their Phoenix apartment, then went inside and

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murdered Nigel and nine month old daughter Anorra. Six hours

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stand off with police, shot at officers, all three family

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members dead. Google search history revealed he'd been planning it

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for weeks, search for firearms, battery acid, sulfuric acid, skin

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melting acid, silencers, and specifically families murdered on Christmas Day.

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Prosecutor said he warned others to expect something big on

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Christmas sentencing scheduled for January ninth, twenty twenty six. Arizona

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has the death penalty. I'm red Carter today. Two fathers,

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two family annihilators. One took the coward's exit, the other

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will face justice. This is celebrity trials. Let's start with

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Christopher Schultez because this story is infuriating on every level.

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July ninth, twenty twenty four, Marana, Arizona, north of Tucson,

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summer in the desert. Temperature that day hit one hundred

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nine degrees, the kind of heat that kills. Christopher Schulte's

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thirty seven at the time, had three daughters, ages nine, five,

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and two. Two year old Parker was the youngest. That morning,

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Parker's older sisters went to a trampoline park with friends unsupervised,

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because apparently leaving children unattended was just standard operating procedure

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in the Schultz's household, Schultz took Parker with him to

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run errands. Security footage from that morning shows him at

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multiple locations with Parker in the back seat. Around noon,

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he stopped at a gas station on West Twin Peaks

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Road twelve oh seven pm to twelve ten PM, walked

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straight to the beer cooler, grabbed three cans, went into

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the bathroom, emerged with fewer cans than he went in with,

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shoplifted beer, left the store without paying, Parker waiting in

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the car the entire time. Then he drove to a

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grocery store, more shoplifting, more beer. Parker, still in the

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car alone, two years old, strapped in her car seat,

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finally arrived home at twelve fifty three pm. Security footage

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from neighbors homes confirms the exact time, not one thirty,

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not two thirty, twelve fifty three. This will be important later,

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Parker was asleep, Schultez made a decision. Instead of waking

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her up and bringing her inside, he left her in

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the twenty twenty three Acura engine, running air conditioning on.

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Figured she'd be fine. He'd done this before. Here's what

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Schultes knew. The car had an automatic shut off feature.

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After thirty minutes, the engine would turn off. He knew

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this from previous experience, had been warned about it. Did

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it anyway. He went inside the house. Older daughters arrived

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home shortly after from the trampoline park. They all went

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inside together. Nobody checked on Parker. So what did Christopher

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Schultz do for the next three hours while his two

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year old daughter baked to death in a car. He

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drank the beer he'd stolen. He played PlayStation, He searched

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the internet for video games and men's clothing at Nordstrom,

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he watched pornography. From two two pm to two thirty pm,

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he was actively viewing adult videos. The car's air conditioning

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shut off around one twenty three pm, thirty minutes after

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he got home. Parker was now trapped in a car

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in one hundred nine degree heat, no air circulation, windows up,

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direct sunlight, a literal oven. Around four pm, doctor Erica

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Schultez arrived home from work. She's an anesthesiologist at Banner

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University Medical Center. She came inside asked where Parker was,

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the question every mother asks when she gets home. Where's

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the baby? Christopher Froze suddenly remembered, ran outside. The other

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daughters ran outside. Erica ran outside. Parker was in the car,

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limp unresponsive, body temperature one one hundred eight point nine degrees.

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Erica immediately started CPR. Christopher called nine to one one

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four five PM. Paramedics arrived rushed Parker to Banner University

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Medical Center. The same hospital where her mother worked, same

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emergency room where Erica saved lives every day. They couldn't

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save Parker. Pronounce dead within an hour. Pima County Medical

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Examiner confirmed cause of death heat exposure. The toddler had

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been in that car for over three hours. Temperature inside

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the vehicle peaked at over one hundred eight degrees. Body

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camera footage shows Christopher's Schulties in the immediate aftermath, pacing frantic,

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telling police this was his worst nightmare. At one point,

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officers told him he couldn't take a shower, couldn't be

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left alone evidence collection standard procedure in a death investigation.

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Schulti's got angry. So I'm being treated like a murderer, yes,

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because as you are one. Initially, Schulte's told detectives he

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arrived home around two thirty PM only left Parker in

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the car for thirty to forty five minutes max. But

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security footage proved he was lying. Arrived at twelve fifty

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three pm. Car never moved again. Parker was alone for

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three hours and twelve minutes. When confronted with the timeline,

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Schulte's changed his story, admitted he lost track of time,

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was distracted playing video games, putting food away, forgot she

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was in the car. But here's what makes this so

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much worse. This wasn't the first time. Schultez's two older

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daughters told police their father regularly left all three of

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them in the car. He got distracted by playing his

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game and putting his food away. One of them said,

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that's how he made my baby sister die. The other

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daughter said their parents fought constantly about Shulty's drinking and

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his habit of leaving the kids in the car. My

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mom told him to stop doing this. He still drinks

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too much beer, and he keeps leaving us in the

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car when my mom told him to stop. Text messages

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between Christopher and Erica confirmed the pattern. After Parker died,

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Erica texted him, I told you to stop leaving them

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in the car. How many times have I told you?

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Christopher replied, Babe, I'm sorry. How could I do this?

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I killed our baby. This can't be real. But those

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texts weren't just from July ninth, twenty twenty four. They

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went back months years. March eleventh, twenty twenty three, Erica

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texted Christopher, you haven't shown me you can stop putting

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the girls in danger or not treat me badly. Even

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yesterday you drove home drunk with two miners. You drink

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to excess every time, you can never have just one.

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I've been asking for three years to cut back, and

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it's actually gotten worse. Christopher promised to find relief and

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happiness elsewhere. Erica countered that the last time he did

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he did that, he replaced booze with cocaine. At least

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this one is legal, right, Christopher replied, I'm a piece

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of shit addict, and I need to get addicted to

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healthy things like running again. Ten days later, March twenty first,

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twenty twenty three, Erica texted Christopher furious about him driving

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one hundred and thirty eight miles per hour after drinking

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with Parker in the car. Shitty decisions, Christopher's response, You

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hate me and she was sleeping. It's fine. Make it

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make sense. A father admits he's an addict, admits he

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drives drunk with his children, admits he leaves them in cars.

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His wife begs him to stop, he doesn't, and then

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Parker dies exactly the way everyone knew she would. July

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twenty twenty four, Christopher Schulte's arrested for second degree murder.

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But here's where the system failed again. He was released

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without bond, never spend a day behind bars, got to

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go home, got to live in his house, got to

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see his surviving daughters. March twenty twenty five, prosecutors offered

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him a plea deal, plead guilty to second degree murder,

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served ten to twenty five years. He rejected it, said

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he wanted to go to trial, claimed it was an accident.

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His case was upgraded to first degree murder after a

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grand jury indictment. Trial scheduled to begin October twenty twenty five,

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but just days before trial, Christopher changed his mind accepted

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a worse plea deal, plead guilty to second degree murder

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and felony child abuse, twenty to thirty years in prison,

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sentences to run consecutively October twenty second, twenty twenty five.

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Sentencing scheduled for November twenty first, but judge ordered him

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to surrender to custody on November sixth. Would be taken

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into custody immediately held until formal sentencing. In the meantime,

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while awaiting surrender, Schultis and his wife, Erica, had moved

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packed up everything left Marana, drove ninety four miles to Phoenix,

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bought a one point zero two five million dollar house,

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four bedrooms, two thy three hundred sixty nine square feet,

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brand new life, Fresh start. The legal bills must have

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been brutal. Schulties pleaded not guilty. Initially hired expensive defense attorneys,

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rejected the first plea deal, went all the way to

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the edge of trial before accepting a worse deal. All

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of that costs money, but they had money. Erica is

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a doctor anesthesiologist six figure salary. They could afford, the house,

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could afford, the lawyers could afford to pretend everything was

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fine while they were out on bail. The court even

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gave them permission to take a vacation Hawaii, Maui. Christopher,

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Erica and their two surviving daughters family trip making memories,

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because apparently killing your toddler doesn't disqualify you from tropical getaways.

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While awaiting sentencing your tax dollars at work. Tuesday night,

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November fifth, twenty twenty five, Christopher Schultees took his own

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life at the Phoenix house. Details aren't public yet, his

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family told The Daily Mail he took an overdose of

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pills exact method doesn't really matter. Dead is dead. Wednesday morning,

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November sixth, Phoenix police responded to the home near Seventh

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Street and Northern Avenue around five am. Found Schult's body

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pronounced dead at the scene. Christopher Schultz was supposed to

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appear in court that morning. Judge Kimberly or Tees took

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the bench. Prosecutors were there, defense attorneys were there. Everyone waiting.

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Then the judge recessed. Immediately, prosecutors and defense hustled into chambers.

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Came out minutes later, looking shaken. Judge or Tez vacated

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the hearing, kept the sentencing date of No. Two twenty

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first on the calendar. Nobody explained what happened. Representatives from

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the Pima County Attorney's office said to expect a statement.

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Hours later, Pima County Attorney Laura Conover released a video statement.

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We expected to be in court this morning because the

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father had accepted a plea agreement to second degree murder,

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which could have carried as much as thirty years in prison,

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instead of coming in to take account for what has

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occurred here. We have been informed, and we have confirmed

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that the father took his own life last night Connover said,

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prosecutors and a senior victim advocate drove to Marana to

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deliver the news to Parker's grandmother, Christopher's mother, the woman

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who gave him the life he threw away. This is

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obviously extraordinarily complicated, and we extend our deepest sympathies and

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sorrow to all the loved ones who have suffered the

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loss of this beautiful baby girl and now another loss

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to his family. Conover said, this little girl's voice was

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nearly silenced because justice was not served appropriately this morning.

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Then Conover addressed Parker's surviving sisters directly. May you be

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surrounded by love. May you receive all of the support

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you deserve and need, and then some May you know

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and believe that you can survive and thrive when you

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look back on this time as the years follow, May

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you not feel tied down by what happened here, but

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rather lifted up by your baby sister's wings. Beautiful words,

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but they don't change the outcome. Christopher Schulties will never

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serve a day in prison, never face the consequences of

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his actions, never sit in a cell and think about

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what he did to Parker. He took the coward's exit.

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His seventeen year old daughter from a previous marriage wasn't surprised.

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Lindsay Eisenberg, the teen's former guardian, told The Daily Mail.

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She broke the news about Christopher's suicide. She said, I

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knew he was going to do this. I knew he

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was going to commit suicide. Then she asked for her

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Her sisters were okay. The teenager also sued Christopher and

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Erica last week civil lawsuit for emotional distress, claims she

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suffered abuse at their hands, seeking damages over Parker's death.

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Neither Christopher nor Erica responded before he killed himself. Now,

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the teen wants to pursue the civil suit against Erica

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even harder. She wants to fight her for custody of

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her little sisters when she's eighteen and two weeks. Eisenberg said.

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Erica Schultez is hold up in the Phoenix house with

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the two surviving daughters. Whether she was home when Christopher

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killed himself isn't clear. There's no suggestion of wrongdoing on

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her part. She's never faced criminal charges, but she enabled him.

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Those text messages proved she knew he was dangerous, knew

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he left the kids in cars, knew he drove, drunk

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with them, stayed with him anyway. Parker Schulte's was two

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years old. Should be three now, Should be learning to

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talk in full sentences, Should be playing with her sisters,

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should be excited for Christmas. Should be alive. Instead, she

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died slowly in the backseat of a car while her

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father drank stolen beer and watched pornography. She was two

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years old. Rest in peace, Parker. Your father escaped justice,

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but someone has to say your name. Welcome back to

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celebrity trials. I'm reed Carter, Monday, November fourth, twenty twenty five,

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Maricopa County Superior Court, Phoenix, Arizona. After a trial that

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began in September, a jury returned with their verdict. Anthony

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Milan Ross fifty three years old, celebrity vegan, chef, author,

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motivational speaker famous for his dramatic weight loss transformation, lost

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over one hundred pounds in his twenties by adopting a

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plant based diet, wrote cookbooks, made television appearances, featured in

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a documentary alongside James Cameron and Samuel L. Jackson. The

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jury found him guilty on all counts three counts of

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first degree murder, three counts of aggravated assault, seventeen counts

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of aggravated assault on a peace officer. The victims his

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estranged wife, Iris Ross, thirty eight, his son Nigel eleven,

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his daughter a Nora, nine months old. The date December

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twenty fifth, twenty seventeen, Christmas Day. Sentencing scheduled for January ninth,

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twenty twenty six. Ross faces the death penalty. Here's what happened.

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June twenty seventeen, Iris Ross filed for divorce from Anthony

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six months before the murders. They'd been married for years

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had two children together, but according to Iris's sister, Mary Wogas,

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Ross had been acting erratically, threatening, unstable. One minute he

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was yelling at her, calling her a whore, and the

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next minute wanting to tell her he loved her and

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wanted them to be a fan family unit. Wogus told

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ABC fifteen. He would also claim that he was working

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with a voodoo priest in New Orleans to put a

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hex on her. Just very very dark, very dark intentions.

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According to prosecutors, Ross was obsessed with his celebrity status.

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His success was built on motivational speeches about weight loss,

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inspirational videos about plant based living, television appearances, book deals, fame,

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but it was all a facade. He relied on iris financially.

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She was a director and healthcare administrator, made real money,

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bankrolled the lifestyle he craved. When she filed for divorce,

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his world collapsed. His five minutes of daytime TV fame

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was up. The money, the success all a facade, and

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so was the perfect family. Prosecutor Richard Dusterhoff told the

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jury and opening statements, Ross didn't take it well, started

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searching the Internet for ways to kill. Prosecutors presented him

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his Google search history to the jury firearms, battery acid,

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sulfuric acid, skin melting acid, silencers, and specifically cases of

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families murdered on Christmas Day. He thought about it before

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he did it. He meant to do it, and then

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he did it. Why, Dusterhoft asked the jury. Dusterhoft also

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revealed Ross had warned others to expect something big on Christmas.

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Not subtle, not ambiguous, a direct warning that something terrible

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was coming. Defense attorney Carry Gallagher argued Ross's mental health

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had deteriorated in twenty seventeen insomnia depression. The Google searches

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reflected obsessive thoughts rather than actual planning. Said he was

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engaging in future oriented activities, adopted a dog, proposed to

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his girlfriend three days before Christmas, planning to meet friends

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after the holidays, writing checks for his business. There is

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a difference between rumination and premeditation, Gallagher told the jury,

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but the prosecution had receipts literal digital receipts. Christmas Eve

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twenty seventeen, Ross posted a video on Facebook, him and

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eleven year old Nigel standing together smiling. Hey guys, I'm

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smiling and I'm hanging out with Nigel on Christmas Eve.

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We're going to embarrass ourselves. We're going to sing. They sang,

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Santa Claus is coming to town. Wished family and friends

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happy holidays. Looked like a perfect father son moment, holiday cheer,

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family togetherness. Hours later, Iris went to Ross's apartment to

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pick up the children she had custody. Christmas Day visitation

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arrived around four pm. Witnesses outside the apartment complex saw

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what happened next. Ross confronted Iris. They argued, she tried

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to run. Ross pulled out a gun, shot her multiple times.

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She fell outside the building dead. A witness yelled, is

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she okay. Ross turned to them, guns still in hand,

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said no, pointed the weapon at witnesses. They scattered. Ross

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ran back inside the apartment. Witnesses heard two or three

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more gunshots from inside. Phoenix police arrived around four pm.

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Found Iris's body on the front patio, blood everywhere. Ross

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barricaded inside with the children for six hours. Police negotiated

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spent the evening trying to talk Ross into surrendering. He

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kept changing his story. First said the children were alive,

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threatened to kill them if police didn't leave, then said

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they were already dead, then changed his story again. Throughout

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the negotiations, he made comments that he had killed the children.

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He made some notifications to some family members that he

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had killed the children. Sergeant Jonathan Howard told reporters Mary Wagas,

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Iris's sister, received chilling text messages that afternoon. Two messages. First,

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I just killed Iris and the kids. Second with a gun.

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I knew that man was very unstable. I knew he

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had a very very dark side. I didn't know it

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was this dark, Wogas said. Hours into the standoff, police

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deployed a robot. Special Assignments Unit sent it into the

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apartment to assess the situation. The robot found nine month

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old in Nora dead shot. Around seven thirty pm, police

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cut the power to the apartment, breached the door, entered

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Ross opened fire, shot at officers. They returned fire chaos, gunshots, screaming.

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One officer struck by shrapnel. Forty six year old veteran

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with twenty three years on the force transported to the

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hospital in stable condition. Police subdued Ross, took him into custody,

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then found Nigel in another room, shot dead. Three bodies

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one Christmas Day, one father who decided if he couldn't

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have his family, nobody would. Anthony any Milan Ross was arrested,

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charged with three counts of first degree murder, three counts

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of aggravated assault, seventeen counts of aggravated assault on a

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peace officer. January twenty eighteen, Ross appeared in court in

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a wheelchair, handcuffed, plead not guilty. Trial wouldn't begin for

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over seven years. September twenty twenty five, trial finally started,

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eight years after the murders. Prosecutors laid out their case

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Google searches, text messages, witness testimony, video of Ross and

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Nigel singing Christmas Carol's hours before the massacre. The internet

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searches for families murdered on Christmas Day. The warning to

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expect something big on Christmas. Defense argued depression mental health crisis.

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Insisted the murders weren't premeditated, said, Ross woke up Christmas

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morning in a state of deep depression, drank half a

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bottle of whiskey, messaged Iris about the pain of their separation.

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Then every thing spiraled out of control. But here's the

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problem with that argument. You don't accidentally search for battery acid,

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sulfuric acid, and cases of families murdered on Christmas. You

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don't accidentally warn people to expect something big. You don't

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accidentally buy a gun, load it, wait for your estranged

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wife to arrive, shoot her outside, then go inside and

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methodically murder your children. That's not depression, that's premeditation, that's revenge.

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That's annihilation. Monday, November fourth, twenty twenty five, the jury

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deliberated returned with their verdict guilty on all twenty three counts.

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Ross faces the death penalty. Arizona is a capital punishment.

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State prosecutors will almost certainly seek death triple murder, including

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two children, one an infant, on Christmas Day, after planning it,

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after posting cheerful videos to create an alibi of normalcy,

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after shooting at police officers. If any case deserves the

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death penalty, this is it. Sentencing scheduled for January ninth,

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twenty twenty six. The judge will hear arguments, victim impacts,

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statements from Iris's family. Mary Wogas will probably speak, tell

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the court about her sister, about the niece and nephew

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who were murdered, about the terror of receiving those text

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messages Christmas afternoon. Then the judge will decide life without

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parole or death. My prediction death. This is exactly the

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kind of case capital punishment was designed for. Planned family annihilation,

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multiple victims, including children, killing his own kids because he

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couldn't control his ex wife. Society doesn't need Anthony Milan

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Ross breathing the same air. Iris Ross was thirty eight

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years old, director healthcare administrator, filed for divorce to escape

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a toxic, controlling marriage. Should be forty six now, should

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be raising her children, should be celebrating Christmas with Nigel

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and Honora. Should be alive. Nigel was eleven sixth grade,

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posted a video with his father singing Christmas carols. Had

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no idea what was coming. Should be nineteen now, should

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be in college. Should have graduated high school. Should have

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had his whole life ahead of him. Honora was nine

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months old, baby, couldn't walk yet, couldn't talk yet, just

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starting to experience the world. Should be eight years old now.

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Should be in second grade, Should be excited for Christmas.

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Should have had a lifetime of Christmases. Anthony Milan Ross

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took all of that away because his celebrity status was fake,

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because his perfect family was a lie, because Iris dared

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to leave him. Some people just can't be rehabilitated. Some

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people are just evil. Rest in peace, Iris, Nigel, Honora,

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someone has to say your names. That celebrity trials from Monday,

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November tenth, twenty twenty five. Christopher Schulte's killed himself Tuesday

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night rather than face prison for Parker's hot car death.

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Never served a day, took the coward's exit. His seventeen

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year old daughter wasn't surprised, said she knew he'd do it.

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Parker was two years old. Should still be alive. Anthony

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Milan Ross found guilty Monday of murdering his wife, Iris

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and children, Nigel and Honora. On Christmas Day twenty seventeen,

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posted cheerful videos singing Carol's hours before the massacre. Google

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searches proved he planned it. Sentencing January ninth, faces death penalty.

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Make it make sense. Two fathers, two family annihilators. One

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escaped justice, the other will face it. Lock your doors,

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watch your neighbors. If you know someone whose spouse complains

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about them leaving kids in cars, call child services. If

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you know someone threatening their ex after divorce, call police.

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These tragedies are preventable. We just have to care enough

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to act. I'm read Carter, see you tomorrow. This is

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celebrity trials.