Arizona | Phoenix chef sentenced to death for killing ex-wife, kids on Christmas in 2017

A jury has handed down a death sentence for a Phoenix chef convicted of murdering his ex-wife and 2 children on Christmas in 2017.

A verdict was reached in the penalty phase of the trial of Anthony Milan Ross on Wednesday, and it was read shortly after 11 a.m. on Thursday. The jury was unanimous in its decision for the death penalty on the 3 counts of 1st-degree murder.

A jury found him guilty last November with several aggravating factors for killing his estranged wife, Iris, and 2 children, 11-year-old Nigel and 10-month-old Anora, on Dec. 25, 2017, at his apartment near 16th Street and Highland Avenue, south of Camelback Road.

“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 news release. “Today’s sentence reflects the gravity of what he did, and he deserves the ultimate punishment. Thanks to prosecutors Kirsten Valenzuela, Jordan Uglietta, and Richard Dusterhoft, there is justice for Iris, Nigel, and Anora.”

Hours before the shootings, Ross uploaded a video on his Facebook page of him singing a Christmas carol with his son.

On Christmas Day, prosecutors said Iris went to his apartment to pick up their children. Ross met her in the parking lot, where she reportedly told him that she would not take him back. That’s when investigators say Ross shot her multiple times as she tried to run away, then shot her several times again after she fell to the ground.

He reportedly went back into his apartment and shot his children, then returned to the parking lot, where witnesses saw him going through Iris’ pants pockets. When the witnesses asked if she was OK, Ross told them no and pointed the gun at them. They ran away as he went back into his apartment.

Phoenix police were called to the scene, which turned into a standoff when Ross threatened to kill his children if officers came inside. Police were unaware at the time that the children were already dead.

After negotiations broke down hours later, investigators say Ross started shooting. Police went inside, where Ross reportedly fired several shots at them before running out of ammunition. He was then taken into custody.

During the trial, prosecutors claimed Ross’ motive was his obsession with being a celebrity whose success was a facade, and whose world came crashing down when Iris filed for divorce six months before the murders.

Defense attorneys argued the killings were not premeditated, saying Ross was depressed and had been drinking on the day of the shootings.

Ross was also found guilty on 3 counts of aggravated assault stemming from the murder and 17 counts of aggravated assault on a peace officer because when police stormed the apartment, Ross reportedly shot at officers who fired back during an hours-long standoff with Phoenix police.

In addition to the death sentence, he was given an additional 18 years in prison on the aggravated assault charges.

Source: azfamily.com, Staff, May 8, 2026

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

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