A motivational speaker and book author killed his ex-wife and two children on Christmas Day.
Witnesses saw Anthony Milan Ross shoot his ex-wife outside his apartment as she tried to run away, according to a court document. After she was shot, witnesses saw Ross going through her pockets. They asked if she was alright. Ross responded by saying “no” and pointed the gun at them. They then saw him return to his apartment. Witnesses heard more gunshots, presumably the ones that killed his 11-year-old and 10-month-old children.
Phoenix police were called at about 3:45 p.m. A standoff with Ross lasted several hours before he started shooting again. Police negotiators were unsure of the status of the children at the time. A police robot entered and found one child dead. Officers tried to enter the apartment to find the older child, but Ross continued shooting and one officer was hit in the shoulder. After Ross was finally taken into custody the second child was found dead in the apartment, according to ABC 15.
The incident occurred not long after Ross posted a video to Facebook happily singing a Christmas song with his son. In the video, he seems cheerful. In earlier months Ross and his son appear on a magazine cover together, as well as a local TV program. Ross’s Instagram account shows these and other media related appearances and promotional events from his health entrepreneurship.
Ross has appeared in documentaries, hosted conferences, and written books about eating a plant-based vegan diet. He told The List he was 518 pounds before he started his diet. His 300-pound weight loss led to his promotion of the vegan and plant-based lifestyles. He credits his diet and subsequent weight loss to a renewed sense of health and happiness in his life.
Ross texted eerie messages to his sister-in-law Mary Wogas at the time of the murder.
“I received a text yesterday about 2:52 p.m. Two messages, first one saying, ‘I just killed Iris and the kids.’ The second message was ‘with a gun,'” said Wogas, via ABC 15. “I knew that man was very unstable. I knew he had a very, very dark side. I didn’t know it was this dark.”
Ross has two books listed on Amazon. One is titled “The Change: Transforming Yourself and Your Body into the Person You Want to Be.” In it, Ross shares his experience in the weeklong program that led to his dramatic weight loss. His other book, “The Change Cookbook: Using the Power of Food to Transform Your Body, Your Health, and Your Life” is filled with plant-based recipes for weight loss.
Ross also appeared in the 2016 documentary “Eating You Alive” to discuss his weight loss and diet. The documentary also includes Hollywood’s James Cameron and Samuel L. Jackson, according to the film’s IMDB page. Ross was also scheduled to head a health retreat in Phoenix in February. The website now appears blank but a cached copy can still be accessed.
The courts charged him with “three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault, 19 counts of aggravated assault against an officer, and a count of discharging a firearm in city limits,” ABC 15 reports. Ross was denied bond.
