Anthony Milan Ross shared a Christmas video the day before he allegedly killed his estranged wife and children.
A man thought to have killed his estranged wife and two children on Christmas Day is a well-known vegan chef, author and motivational speaker who suffered from depression but recently turned his life around.
Police said Tuesday that Anthony Milan Ross was arrested late Monday night after exchanging gunfire with officers following a six-hour standoff in a Phoenix, Arizona, apartment complex, according to AZ Central.
Once police were able to get into the apartment they found the bodies of 11-year-old Nigel and Anora, 10 months.
Ross, 45, has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder and more than a dozen counts of aggravated assault on an officer. He wasn't hurt in the police standoff.
Police found the body of Iris outside the apartment and Nigel inside. Anthony Ross has been charged with their murders. Photo / Supplied
Witnesses told police they saw him shoot his estranged wife Iris Ross as she tried to run away from him.
When they asked if she was okay, he said "no" and pointed his gun at them before entering the apartment, where witnesses said they heard two or three more gunshots, according to police.
On Christmas afternoon Ross posted a touching video alongside his 11-year-old son, Nigel, singing Santa Claus is Coming to Town.
Just 90 minutes later police said the shooting rampage began. Ross' social media fans have reacted with shock to the disturbing news, as hundreds of his fans commented with horror on the video, which remains on his page.
Minutes after posting a touching video of himself singing with his son Nigel, Anthony Ross allegedly shot him. Photo / Supplied
Police went to the apartment complex at 4pm on Monday, and found Iris' body outside a flat.
When police tried to enter the apartment a standoff with Ross ensued.
Ross, known as Milan by his fans, lost a significant amount of weight in his 20s when he switched to a vegan lifestyle.
He then became a chef and started writing and doing inspirational videos about his transformation and new lifestyle.
Ross was also featured alongside celebrities such as James Cameron and Samuel L. Jackson in a feature-length documentary about veganism.
His Facebook profile had more than 6200 followers on Tuesday night, but that number may have dwindled throughout the day as news of the tragedy spread.
However, Ross was also battling depression, according to Iris' sister Mary Wogas.
"I received a text [from Ross] yesterday around 2.52pm," Wogas told ABC 15. "Two messages, first one saying 'I just killed Iris and the kids'. The second message was 'with a gun'. I knew that man was very unstable. I knew he had a very, very dark side. I didn't know it was this dark." Police confirmed on Tuesday morning police Ross was the father of the two dead children and that he and Iris were estranged.
After finding Iris' body and confronting Ross, they negotiated with him for hours, hoping that one or both of the children were still alive.
Ross eventually told them he'd killed the children, according to Sergeant Jonathan Howard, but not until after he'd changed his stories and said they were alive and threatened to kill them if police didn't leave.
After several hours the Special Assignments Unit sent a robot into the apartment and it became apparent that the infant, Anora, was dead.
"Throughout the negotiations, he made comments that he had killed the children. He made some notifications to some family members that he had killed the children," Howard said.
At 7.30pm, police shut off power and went into the apartment, fending off gunfire from the suspect.
A few minutes later they found Nigel's body.
Anthony Milan Ross faces three charges of first-degree murder. Photo / Supplied
Howard said Ross lived in a different town and was in Phoenix visiting the children for Christmas. The motive for the killings is still not clear.
In the exchange of fire one officer, a 46-year-old on the force for 23 years, was injured by shrapnel and taken to the hospital in a stable condition.
