Virginia youth pastor charged in Thanksgiving triple homicide
A domestic dispute turned deadly when a man shot and killed his wife, her daughter, and the daughter’s boyfriend at their Virginia home on Thanksgiving evening, police said.
Christopher Gattis, 58, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
His victims were Jeanett Gattis, 58, her daughter, 30-year-old Candice Kunze, and Kunze’s boyfriend, 36-year-old Andrew Buthorn.
All three victims died of gunshot wounds.
Click through to see images of the victims:
Police arrested Christopher Gattis at the scene.
The suspect is a youth pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, according to NBC 12.
Police described the scene in a a 911 call obtained by the outlet.
“I have one detained; be advised he shot three people...I got one male subject on the ground. He’s got two gunshots to the stomach...Sir, we have two females down in the kitchen.”
Officials said the women’s bodies were found inside the home and the man’s body was found in the front yard.
Gattis is being held without bond at the Chesterfield County Jail.
Neighbors described residents of the Dogwood Ridge Court block in the Ashley Forrest subdivision as members of a tight-knit community.
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“We were all friends,” neighbor Mike Brown said of the suspect and his family.
“We hang out sometimes [and] cook out in the back,” he told WTVR. “I mean every time I see them, they’re always the same way. [I] had no clue that they were having problems that I knew of, but behind closed doors is behind closed doors.”
With News Wire Services
