Suspects accused of murder in Phoenix apartment fire where 3 adults were found dead
PHOENIX - Two men are accused of triple murder after three people were found dead in an apartment fire in Phoenix.
The fire happened at around 6:30 a.m. on July 15 near Interstate 10 and Ray Road.
Phoenix Fire says crews arrived at the scene and found smoke coming from the entryway of a second-floor apartment. Firefighters extinguished the fire and stopped it from spreading to the third floor.
"As crews made entry they found three adults unconscious and not breathing," Capt. Todd Keller said. "Unfortunately, the individuals were beyond resuscitation."
The victims were identified as 37-year-old Samuel Lott, 27-year-old Merissa Honeycutt and 25-year-old Anthony Frederickson-Ceccarelli.
Phoenix Police said the victims suffered "obvious signs of trauma" not related to the fire. Investigators are working to determine what sparked the fire.
"Specifics related [to] the victim’s injuries will be determined through the Office of the Medical Examiner’s autopsy to be conducted at a later date," police said.
2 suspects arrested
On July 19, Chase Christman, 30, was arrested in connection to the murders.
"[Christman] made admissions to being at the apartment but did not admit to committing the homicides," police said.
Christman was booked into jail on a $5 million bond. He is accused of three counts of murder and one count of misconduct involving weapons.
On July 24, police said 53-year-old Dorian Rice had also been arrested in connection to the crime.
"During the interview of Rice, he admitted to driving Christman to the residence to commit a planned robbery of the victims," police said. "Rice also admitted to driving Christman away from the scene after the murders."
Rice was booked into jail and is accused of multiple counts of first-degree murder and armed robbery.
Chilling wake up call for neighbors
"I don’t know what happened," a neighbor said. "I just came out here with my dog and saw all that."
A crime scene unit was parked outside, and yellow crime scene tape was strewn across the building.
"I was honestly just inside the house with my daughter just relaxing, so, it’s crazy that you can be relaxing and something else can be happening," a resident named Jacob said.
Neighbors were shocked to hear what happened when nothing seemed amiss before it happened.
"It’s scary, it’s very scary," a resident of the apartment complex named Jessica said. "Everybody stays to themselves. Our kids play together when they are at the playground, stuff like that, but we don’t. I think that’s something we should all start doing, so we know what’s going on in the neighborhood."
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