American Airlines Pilot Arrested In Connection To Triple Homicide In Kentucky From 2015

After a three year investigation, Kentucky police on Saturday morning arrested a man for a triple murder.

Christian Richard Martin, 51, a pilot for American Airlines was arrested at the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport and was indicted on three counts of murder, one count of arson, one count of attempted arson, first-degree burglary and three counts of tampering with physical evidence, according to a press release from the Office of Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear.

Police originally found the body of 59-year-old Calvin Phillips shot to death in the cellar of his house in November 2015. Not long after, the bodies of Phillips' wife, 58-year-old Pamela Phillips, along with their neighbor, 63-year-old Edward Dansereau, were found inside Pamela Phillips' burning car in a cornfield a few miles from the house in Christian County.

In the wake of the murders, police began a thorough investigation but were unable to identify a motive or suspect early on.

After the police had investigated for nearly a year, Calvin and Pamela Phillips' son Matt reached out to Beshear about the case. Matt was concerned that the investigation was stalling and requested a special prosecutor be assigned, which Beshear agreed to.

Family members had also offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case.

A Christian County grand jury issued an arrest warrant on Friday after a possible suspect had been identified in the case.

Martin had been serving as an airline pilot for an American Airlines subsidiary since January of 2018 and was living in North Carolina at the time. However, it was also discovered that he had previously lived in Christian County and had moved not long after the murders.

American Airlines has also been cooperating in the investigation, explaining that they found no “criminal history that would disqualify him from being a commercial pilot.”

“I hope this is a day that brings some justice to these families,” Beshear said in a statement on Saturday. He continued, “There are many steps from here, but we hope this is one example of when you never stop seeking justice, when you never give up, that we can truly get important results for these families.”