PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Closing arguments are set to begin Thursday morning in the penalty phase for a Valley celebrity chef convicted of killing his wife and two children.
A jury will decide if the former popular vegan chef, Anthony Milan Ross, should be sentenced to death or stay behind bars for the rest of his life.
Ross’s defense will have the first crack at closing arguments to sway the jury in this capital case.
The conviction
A jury convicted Ross of three counts of first-degree murder with several aggravating factors after he killed his estranged wife, Iris, and two children, 11-year-old Nigel and 8-month-old Anora, on Christmas in 2017.
The motive, prosecutors allege, has to do with Ross’s obsession with being a celebrity whose success was a facade, and whose world came crashing down when his wife 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.
What’s next
Closing arguments are at 10:30 a.m. Next week, the prosecution will have a chance to convince the jury that the death penalty is necessary in this case.
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