Another suspect arrested in connection with 3 bodies found after Phoenix apartment fire

PHOENIX – A second suspect was arrested Tuesday in connection with three bodies found in the aftermath of a Phoenix apartment fire last week, authorities said.

Dorian Rice, 53, was booked into jail on multiple felony counts, including first-degree murder and armed robbery, related to the triple-homicide case, the Phoenix Police Department said.

The investigation that led to Rice’s arrest started July 15 after the Phoenix Fire Department extinguished a fire at an Ahwatukee-area apartment complex near 48th Street and Warner Road.

First arrest in triple-homicide case was made last week

Firefighters called police after finding three bodies with signs of trauma unrelated to the fire. The victims were identified as 27-year-old Merissa Honeycutt, 25-year-old Anthony Frederickson-Ceccarelli and 37-year-old Samuel Lott.

Investigators determined that the murders occurred the day before the fire.

On Friday, 30-year-old Chase Christman was arrested on three counts of murder and one count of weapons misconduct. His bond was set at $5 million.

“He made admissions to being at the apartment but did not admit to committing the homicides,” Sgt. Rob Scherer said in a media advisory last week.

At the time, police said Christman was believed to be the lone suspect in the case.

Why was second suspect arrested?

However, the investigation continued. Detectives located and arrested Rice after learning he was seen with Christman around the time of the murders.

“During the interview of Rice, he admitted to driving Christman to the residence to commit a planned robbery of the victims. Rice also admitted to driving Christman away from the scene after the murders,” Scherer said Wednesday in a media advisory update.

Christman was awaiting his initial appearance in court on Wednesday.

The investigation remains active.

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