Airline pilot charged with triple murder and arrested at Louisville airport

May 11, 2019, 22:58 UTC

By Dennis Romero

An airline pilot was arrested Saturday at Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville after being charged with the murder of three people in 2015.

A grand jury from Christian County, Kentucky, accused Christian Richard Martin of three counts of murder, one arson, one arson arrest, of a first-degree burglary and three counts of falsification of material evidence. The indictment was unsealed Saturday after Martin 's arrest.

Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear said Saturday that Martin was responsible for the 2015 murders of Calvin and Pamela Phillips and their neighbor, Edward Dansereau.

Calvin Phillips was found fatally shot at his home in Pembroke, Kentucky, Beshear said in a video Saturday. The bodies of Pamela Phillips and Dansereau were found in Calvin Phillips' vehicle, which had been burned in a cornfield a few kilometers from the couple's home, he said.

Crystal Staley, spokeswoman for the Kentucky Attorney General's Office, said prosecutors could not yet discuss a possible motive.

The office took over the case in 2017 after Phillips' son, Matt Phillips, came to Beshear and expressed his fear that the investigation was not over.

Prosecutors focused on Martin, who had gone from the jurisdiction of the case, Christian County (Kentucky) to North Carolina, Beshear said.

"Today is an indictment and there will be several steps here," said the attorney general. "But we hope this is an example of a case where you never stop asking for justice, when you never give up a case, we can really achieve important results for our families."

Victims of the victims said Saturday in a statement that they were "haunted by what had been inflicted upon them and haunted further, to the idea that someone is still free to do what they want." They want, beyond the civility of humanity or the laws of our nation ".

"We are looking forward to a verdict ending this terror and a new beginning for healing," they said.

Martin worked for PSA Airlines, an affiliate of American Airlines, for a little over a year, said American in a statement. He was arrested while he was preparing to fly as the first officer of flight 5523 between Louisville and Charlotte, North Carolina, the airline said.

Martin was grounded and put in "administrative suspension" pending the outcome of the case, said American.

"We have an unwavering commitment to the safety of our clients and members of our team, and we will provide any possible investigation assistance to law enforcement throughout their investigation," he said. the airline company.