Text messages lead to man accused in killing of three in Arizona, officials say

A 31-year-old man is going to prison after pleading guilty in the 2024 killing of three people, Arizona officials said.

In July 2024, Phoenix firefighters responded to a Ahwatukee apartment after fire crew saw smoke coming from a unit, according to a June 23 news release by the Maricopa County District Attorney’s Office.

When personnel entered the apartment in the Phoenix neighborhood, they found three bodies, later identified as Merissa Honecutt, Samuel Lott, and Anthony Frederickson Ceccarelli, in a bedroom, officials said.

One of the victims had been stabbed 30 times, eventually killing them, and the other two had been fatally shot, officials said.

After investigating, officials learned through text messages and blood in the apartment that Chase Scott Christman was at the scene during the crime, prosecutors said.

Text messages revealed the negotiation of a drug deal between Christman and Ceceralli and that Christman owed Lott $540, officials told The Mesa Tribune.

Christman worked with another man and “had planned a drug-related robbery when the murders took place,” officials said.

Christman’s accomplice, identified as Dorian Michael Rice, 53, said he drove Christman to the apartment for the robbery and drove him from the scene, according to court documents obtained by AZ Central. Rice was also charged with the murders and robbery.

“Christman “tried to cover his tracks by setting the crime scene on fire,” County attorney Rachel Mitchell said in the release.

Christman pleaded guilty to murder, armed robbery and misconduct involving weapons, officials said.

He was sentenced to three consecutive natural life sentences, prosecutors said.

This story was originally published June 23, 2025 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Text messages lead to man accused in killing of three in Arizona, officials say."