PHOENIX — A man has been sentenced to three consecutive natural life sentences for an Ahwatukee triple murder that took place in July 2024, officials announced Monday.
Chase Scott Christman, 31, pleaded guilty to a number of charges including three counts of first-degree murder, three counts of armed robbery and one count of misconduct involving weapons, according to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO).
The victims in the triple homicide were 27-year-old Merissa Honeycutt, 25-year-old Anthony Frederickson-Ceccarelli and 37-year-old Samuel Lott.
Details on Ahwatukee triple murder
Phoenix Fire responded to an Ahwatukee apartment complex near 48th Street and Warner Road on July 15 of last year.
When crews arrived, they saw smoke coming from the apartment, with the door left unlocked. Upon entering, they discovered three dead bodies in a bedroom and called Phoenix Police.
The victims showed obvious signs of trauma that weren’t caused by the fire, police said at the time.
MCAO said further investigation revealed that one victim was stabbed and the other victims suffered gunshot wounds.
Three pets also died during the fire.
Christman was arrested on July 19 just days after the fire, which investigators determined occurred the day after the murders.
He was identified as a suspect through digital and physical evidence that placed him at the crime scene and showed he knew the three victims. When he was arrested, Christman also admitted to being at the apartment.
According to MCAO, evidence — including text messages, Christman’s blood at the scene and location data from his phone — established that he and an accomplice had planned a drug-related robbery when the murders took place.
His accomplice, 53-year-old Dorian Rice, was arrested four days later.
Police said that Rice admitted to driving Christman to the residence to commit a planned robbery of the victims as well as driving him away from the scene after the murders.
The two were indicted for the crime in August 2024 and held on bonds of $5 million each.
Christman was originally indicted on three counts of first-degree murder, three counts of armed robbery, one count of burglary and conspiracy to commit armed robbery, three counts of intentionally killing a domestic animal, two counts of misconduct involving weapons and one count of arson.
“This was a particularly vicious act with one victim being stabbed nearly 30 times,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in the announcement. “This defendant tried to cover his tracks by setting the crime scene on fire. I’m grateful to the Phoenix Police Department for their investigative work, and our prosecutors who made sure he was unable to escape justice.”
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