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3 people were found dead after Ahwatukee apartment fire. Now, there's been an arrest

Police and fire crews respond to an apartment fire near 48th Street and Warner Road on July 15, 2024.
Phoenix Fire Department
Police and fire crews respond to an apartment fire near 48th Street and Warner Road on July 15, 2024.

A suspect has been arrested in connection with a triple homicide case in Ahwatukee, according to authorities.

Phoenix police said 30-year-old Chase Christman was jailed on suspicion of three counts of murder and one count of misconduct involving weapons.

Messages were left Sunday seeking comment from the public defender representing Christman.

Sgt. Robert Scherer, a Phoenix police spokesman, said a woman and two men were found dead inside an apartment on July 15 after an early morning fire that appeared to be deliberately set.

The victims have been identified as Merissa Honeycutt, 27; Anthony Frederickson-Ceccarelli, 25; and Samuel Lott, 37.

The bodies were found inside a second-floor bedroom of the three-level apartment complex in Ahwatukee, located about 13 miles southeast of Phoenix. Officials said the fire had not spread past the second floor. All three suffered obvious signs of trauma unrelated to the fire, which police believe was set to cover up the killings, officials said.

Investigators said Christman acknowledged being at the apartment but did not admit to the homicides. Police say they linked him to the murders through digital and physical evidence at the crime scene and that he was an associate of the victims.

Authorities also said Christman is the only suspect.

Information about the victims’ cause of death or a possible motive for the killings hasn’t been released yet, Scherer said.

Associated Press
The Associated Press is an independent not-for-profit news organization.
Al Macias, former KJZZ news director, retired as KJZZ's news director in 2022. He rejoined the station as a features reporter in 2023 and also as a part-time editor in 2024.