American Airlines pilot found guilty of murdering three people

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A former American Airlines pilot was found guilty of murdering three people in Kentucky in 2015, NBC News reported on Thursday.

The US broadcaster reported that Christian Richard Martin was found guilty of all charges against him, including three counts of murder, one count of arson in the first degree, one count of attempted arson, two counts of burglary in the first degree, and three counts of tampering with physical evidence.

It said Martin, 53, fatally shot three of his neighbours, Edward Dansereau and married couple Calvin and Pamela Phillips on November 18.

Calvin Phillips was found dead in his home in Kentucky on November 19, and the remains of Dansereau and Pamela Phillips, were discovered in a burned vehicle in a field, the news channel wrote.

According to USA Today, said the case attracted national attention when Martin, a former army major who flew for American Airlines, was handcuffed at the airline gate as he was about to take off on May 11, 2019. He was still wearing his pilot’s uniform when he was booked.

The daily publication said Martin killed Calvin Phillips because he was about to testify in his military court-martial trial on multiple charges, and that could have ended his career

Dansereau and Phillips’ wife were collateral damage.

The military court eventually convicted Martin on one count of mishandling classified information and one count of assault on a child. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail and was discharged after 30 years of military service, USA Today said in its report.

Martin has maintained his innocence, saying that he had no motive to kill Calvin Phillips because he believed he was going to be his star witness in the upcoming court-martial, ABC News reported.

According to the US news channel, his attorney Tom Griffiths said there’s forensic proof that the bullets that killed the victims did not come from his client’s gun.

He also noted there were no eyewitnesses, no DNA and no fingerprints. He said evidence pointing to his client could have been planted.

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