Chef kills wife, kids hours after singing Christmas carols with son on Facebook
Milan Ross endured six-hour standoff with police after murdering wife and young children
Milan Ross endured six-hour standoff with police after murdering wife and young children
A vegan chef who killed his wife and two children on Christmas Day had only hours earlier shared a Facebook video of himself and his son singing Christmas carols.
Anthony Milan Ross, who goes by the professional name Milan Ross, is a vegan chef in the Phoenix area known for claiming his diet led to dramatic weight loss.
But on Monday, he barricaded himself in a home with his two children after his estranged wife, Iris Ross, was found dead outside an apartment complex.
In a six-hour standoff with police, Ross exchanged fire with the officers. When the officers did finally swarm the home and conclude the standoff, they discovered his 10-month-old daughter Anora and 11-year-old son Nigel dead inside.
The timing for the murders has not yet been determined, and neither has a motive.
Iris Ross’ sister, Mary Wogas, told ABC that she received a text message from Ross that afternoon that stated, “I just killed Iris and the kids.” A second text message a moment later clarified, “with a gun.”
“I knew that man was very unstable. I knew he had a very, very dark side…I didn’t know it was this dark,” she said.
An image of a good father
Just hours before the murders, Ross posted a Facebook video of himself with his son. The two announced that they would sing Christmas carols for everyone.
“Hey guys, I’m smiling and I’m hanging out with Nigel on Christmas Eve. We’re going to embarrass ourselves! We’re going to sing,” Ross said.
After the two sang “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” Nigel fell apart laughing.
What’s more, Ross, a motivational speaker, has long claimed that his son inspired his diet choices.
He said that he decided to go vegan to lose weight after he was barred from riding with his son on a theme park ride.
“[Nigel] started crying. It was at that moment I learned that the decisions I was making didn’t just affect me,” Ross said.
