PHOENIX — Four days after a woman and two men were found dead in an apartment that caught fire in Ahwatukee, a man has been arrested and charged in connection with their deaths, the Phoenix Police Department announced Friday.
Police said that 30-year-old Chase Christman was arrested and charged with killing 27-year-old Merissa Honeycutt, 25-year-old Anthony Frederickson-Ceccarelli and 37-year-old Samuel Lott.
Detectives believe that Christman killed the trio in the early morning hours on July 14 in an apartment near 48th Street and Knox Road in Ahwatukee.
A day later, at about 6:30 a.m. on July 15, the apartment caught fire. The bodies of Honeycutt, Frederickson-Ceccarelli and Lott were found in the apartment after the fire was extinguished.
Police say all three bodies "suffered obvious signs of trauma" and that they were able to link Christman to their deaths through digital and physical evidence from the crime scene. Police added that Christman knew all three victims.
Police took Christman into custody on Friday and interviewed him. Officers say he admitted to officers that he was at the apartment, but denied killing anyone.
He has been booked into jail on three counts of murder and one count of misconduct involving weapons.
Police say that the investigation into this case is still open, but they believe that Christman is the only suspect.
This is a developing story and more details will be added as they are made available.
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