A former renowned chef was convicted of brutally murdering his wife and two young children on Christmas Day, almost eight years after sharing a festive caroling video with his son the night before the tragic incident.
Anthony Milan Ross, aged 53, was found guilty by a Maricopa County jury on three counts of first-degree murder for the slayings of his estranged wife, Iris, and their two children, 11-year-old Nigel and 10-month-old Anora, as reported by AZ Family.
Ross, a popular local TV vegan chef and cookbook author, committed the heinous act at his apartment when Iris, who had filed for divorce six months earlier, arrived to pick up their children on December 25, 2017.
Witnesses reported seeing the celebrity chef shoot Iris outside before retreating back inside the apartment.
Law enforcement officers arrived at the scene at 4 p.m. and discovered Iris’s body on the front patio of Ross’s apartment. Ross had barricaded himself inside with his two children.
After a tense seven-hour standoff, the police entered Ross’s apartment and found one of his children shot dead.
During the apartment search, Ross appeared and opened fire on the officers, injuring one of them. He eventually surrendered after a brief shootout and was taken into custody. Subsequent investigations revealed that Ross’s other child had also been shot dead after his arrest.
On Christmas Eve, Ross appeared in a video happily singing Christmas carols with his son Nigel, showcasing a seemingly loving father-son bond.
Ross had also sent a text to his estranged wife’s sister, Mary Wogas, during the killing spree on Christmas Day, informing her that he had “just killed Iris and the kids.”
Wogas, in a statement to investigators as per court documents obtained by ABC 15, expressed her knowledge of Ross’s unstable nature and dark side, indicating his struggles with depression.
Iris’s roommate, Lushanya Echeverria, recounted to the Arizona Republic about Ross’s harassing behavior leading up to the murders, including showing up armed with a gun to pick up their kids.
In addition to the three first-degree murder charges, the disgraced chef was convicted of three counts of aggravated assault and 17 counts of assaulting a peace officer.
Ross is set to be sentenced on January 9, 2026, facing the possibility of life imprisonment, death by lethal injection, or death by the gas chamber.
Prior to the tragic events, Ross had been promoting his transformation story of losing over 200 pounds through a vegan diet and active lifestyle, detailed in his book “The Change: Transforming Yourself and Your Body Into the Person You Want to Be.”
He had also appeared in the 2016 vegan documentary “Eating You Alive,” alongside celebrities like Samuel L. Jackson and James Cameron, and had been a regular presence at food and lifestyle events, including the Scottsdale Food Festival, and on local news.
