Vegan chef kills estranged wife, 2 children on Christmas

PHOENIX — A woman and her two children were killed and a police officer was injured in Christmas Day shootings at an upscale Phoenix apartment complex, police said.

Anthony Milan Ross, who turns 46 on Saturday and is the woman's estranged husband, was taken into custody at about 10 p.m. MT Monday after a hours-long standoff in which he exchanged gunfire with officers, a Phoenix police spokesman said. He was not injured and is being held in Maricopa County jail without bond.

The body of Iris Ross, 38, was found outside an apartment at the Highland Apartments in northcentral Phoenix. Witnesses told police they had seen Anthony Ross shoot his ex-wife and later rummage through her pants pockets.

The Ross' two children — Nigel, 11; and Anora, 10 months — were found dead inside, said Sgt. Jonathan Howard, a Phoenix police spokesman.

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All three were shot.

Anthony Ross is being held on suspicion of three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault, 19 counts of aggravated assault on an officer and one count of discharging a firearm within city limits.

After eight years of marriage, Iris Ross had filed for divorce in June in Maricopa County Superior Court. In September when court papers showed their separation to be final, the legal proceedings were described as amicable.

They lived about a mile away from each other in separate apartments.

The couple married in September 2009 in Houston, and then moved to Highlands Ranch, Colo., south of Denver. By June 2016, the children were living in Mesa, Ariz., the divorce records show.

During divorce proceedings, the couple agreed that Anthony Ross would get the children for Christmas Eve and Iris Ross would pick them up for Christmas.

Hours before the shootings, Anthony Ross, a vegan chef and motivational speaker who had a social-media following, had uploaded a video on his Facebook page showing him and his son singing a Christmas carol.

He was more commonly known by his middle name, Milan, which he used for his business ventures that include vegan cooking and writing. 

He lost a large amount of weight when he was in his 20s, which he has attributed to his vegan lifestyle. He even spoke about it in a feature-length documentary that also included celebrities James Cameron and Samuel L. Jackson.

Iris Ross was director and health-care administrator for the outpatient surgery center at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, according to court records. As part of the divorce settlement, she was to pay her ex-husband $766 a month for child support since she made $150,000 annually, significantly more than his $30,000 a year.

Anthony Ross said in divorce documents that he had missed out on educational training and work opportunities so Iris Ross could pursue her career.

As the standoff unfolded Christmas Day, Anthony Ross told police negotiators that he had killed his children, Howard said. 

However, in hopes that one or both of the children were alive, officials allowed negotiations for Anthony Ross' surrender to continue for hours. During negotiations, Anthony Ross changed his story, said the children were alive and threatened to kill them.

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For hours, residents and visitors inside the apartment complex were not allowed to leave and those waiting to return to their homes were not allowed in. 

Power was cut to the complex about 7:30 p.m., and residents near the apartment were escorted out by police SWAT team members.

Kristen Alexander, 26, had been sitting in a parking lot since 4:15 p.m. after arriving home from a trip to Ohio.

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"I'm terrified of who our neighbors are," said Alexander, who, with her dog, got a police escort back to her apartment.

Shortly after 10 p.m., a robot deployed into the apartment allowed police to see that the younger child was dead. Tactical units then used an explosion to distract the Anthony Ross and enter the apartment.

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Gunfire rang out. After entering the apartment, police discovered the 11-year-old also had been killed.

A long-time police officer, injured from shrapnel, was taken to a hospital and is in stable condition, Howard said.

Follow Craig Harris on Twitter: @charrisazrep