Arizona jury hands down death penalty for vegan chef who slaughtered his kids just hours after filming a holiday singalong
A cautionary tale.
Anthony Milan Ross, a former vegan chef and motivational speaker, has been handed the death penalty for the 2017 Christmas Day murders of his estranged wife and two children. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office confirmed the sentence on May 7, 2026, following a unanimous jury decision. Ross, now 54, was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder, along with multiple aggravated assault charges, and got an additional 18-year prison sentence.
According to True Crime News, the killings took place on December 25, 2017, when Iris Ross, 38, arrived at Ross’s apartment to pick up their children, 11-year-old Nigel and 8-month-old Anora. According to prosecutors, an argument in the parking lot escalated after Iris told Ross she had no interest in reconciling. Ross shot her multiple times as she tried to flee, then returned to his apartment and fatally shot both children.
Iris’s sister later told police she received a text from Ross stating he had just killed his estranged wife and children. She described him as deeply unstable, saying, “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 standoff with the police lasted hours
When police arrived, Ross barricaded himself inside and threatened to kill his children if officers entered. The standoff lasted several hours, during which Ross fired repeatedly at law enforcement until he ran out of ammunition. Authorities eventually breached the apartment and took him into custody.
Prosecutors argued that Ross’s motive stemmed from Iris filing for divorce six months earlier. They claimed he had grown dependent on her income to sustain his lifestyle as a self-proclaimed celebrity chef and motivational speaker. During the trial, Maricopa County prosecutor Richard Dusterhoft told the jury, “He thought about it before he did it. He meant to do it, and then he did it. Why?”
Dusterhoft alleged Ross had researched methods of violence online, including searches for guns, battery acid, and sulfuric acid, as well as news stories about a man who killed his family on Christmas Day. The prosecutor described Ross’s public persona as a facade, saying, “His five minutes of daytime TV fame was up. The money, the success — all a facade. And so was the perfect family.”
Ross’s defense attorney, Carrie Gallagher, countered that the killings were not premeditated. She argued Ross had been battling severe depression and insomnia, which influenced his online searches.
Gallagher also pointed to Ross’s future-oriented actions, such as proposing to his girlfriend three days before Christmas and adopting a dog, as evidence he wasn’t planning a murder. She told the court Ross had been drinking heavily on the day of the killings, consuming half a bottle of whiskey while in a deep depressive state.
The case also drew attention because of Ross’s public persona
Before the murders, he had built a following as a vegan chef and motivational speaker, even appearing in the 2016 documentary Eating You Alive. On Christmas Eve 2017, just hours before the killings, Ross posted an Instagram video with his son Nigel, singing “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.”
In the clip, Ross laughed and said, “I’m smiling and hanging out with Nigel on Christmas Eve and we are about to embarrass ourselves. We are going to sing.” The video, now a chilling contrast to the events that followed, was shown during the trial.
According to People, Iris’s sister, Mary Wogas, had previously spoken about Ross’s erratic behavior leading up to the murders. She told ABC 15 Arizona in 2017 that Ross oscillated between rage and desperation, at one point calling Iris a “whore” and the next moment professing his love. Wogas also claimed Ross had consulted a voodoo priest in New Orleans to place a hex on Iris.
The murders left a lasting impact on the community, particularly given the timing
The Instagram video of Ross and Nigel singing together, posted just a day before the Christmas murders, has been widely circulated as a haunting reminder of how quickly circumstances can change. For those who followed Ross’s career, the case served as a grim example of how public personas can mask deep instability.
Ross’s sentencing closes a painful chapter for the victims’ families, though the legal process is far from over. Death penalty cases in Arizona often involve lengthy appeals, meaning it could be years before the sentence is carried out.
For now, the focus remains on the lives lost and the irreversible damage inflicted on a family during what should have been a time of celebration. The case also raises broader questions about mental health, domestic violence, and the pressures of maintaining a public image.
(Featured image: Aranami)
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