A man accused of shooting to death his estranged wife and two young children shared a video where he was singing carols with his older son just hours before he killed him, his baby sister, and his mother on Christmas Day.
Anthony Milan Ross, 45, has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder.
A footage has emerged showing Ross singing christmas carols with his 11-year-old son Nigel, in a family clip filmed on Christmas Eve.
Ross says in the video:
“Hey guys, I’m smiling and I’m hanging out with Nigel, and we’re about to embarrass ourselves, we’re going to sing.”
In the clip posted on Ross’s Facebook page, the father and son laugh as they perform a version of ‘Santa Claus is coming to town’.
They look at each other, smile, and are shown having fun together – a few hours before Nigel was found dead alongside his mom and sister.
Iris Ross, 38, was found dead outside a block of flats in Phoenix, Arizona, US before Ross barricaded himself inside the home with their 10-month-old daughter Anora and son Nigel, the NY Daily News reports.
Reports say Iris had tried to run away from her ex-husband.
Ross, a chef, author and motivational speaker, reportedly exchanged gunfire with police with one of the officers hit by shrapnel in a six-hour standoff. The 46-year-old officer injured was taken to hospital and is in a stable condition, according to reports. By the time officers succeeded in getting into the property and arresting Ross on Monday night, the couple’s two children were found dead inside the flat.
Iris’s sister, Mary Wogas, told ABC 15 Arizona she got a text message from Anthony Ross and knew straight away that something was wrong.
She told ABC 15 Arizona: “Two messages, first one saying ‘I just killed Iris and the kids’. The second message was ‘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.”
The motive of the alleged murders remains unclear and police are investigating it as a domestic violence incident. Iris was described as a loving gentle woman who adored her children, Nigel 11 and Anora age 10 months.
