Ariz. mom, son arrested after he allegedly killed and dismembered his father, lit remains on fire

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (TCD) -- Police arrested a 32-year-old man for allegedly killing his father, dismembering his body, lighting the remains on fire with his mother’s help, and holding a family at gunpoint.

According to a statement, on Monday, July 24, at 1:43 a.m., the Casa Grande Fire Department responded to a structure fire on the 200 block of North Brown Avenue and saw a person running from the property. Firefighters ordered the man to stop, but he refused. At the scene, officials extinguished a blaze in a 55-gallon metal barrel and found human remains inside.

Casa Grande Police responded to the home and began looking into the incident. At around 2:15 a.m., 911 received a call from Christopher Chase, who allegedly said he "disposed of a body by burning it and ran away when the fire department arrived."

He contacted police from a home on the 200 block of North Morrison Avenue, where he allegedly held a 57-year-old woman, 68-year-old man, and 41-year-old man at gunpoint. He reportedly demanded their car keys, then called 911 to turn himself in.

According to Casa Grande Police, Christopher Chase and his father, Thomas Chase, got into an altercation July 22, which resulted in Christopher allegedly shooting and killing Thomas. After the killing, Christopher’s mother, Melissa Chase, allegedly helped "in the concealment and cleanup of evidence."

Christopher Chase was arrested and booked into the Pinal County Adult Detention Center on charges of murder, abandonment/concealment of a dead body, kidnapping, aggravated assault, burglary, and tampering with evidence. His mother faces charges of abandonment/concealment of a dead body and tampering with evidence.

The charges and evidence will be presented to the Pinal County Attorney’s Office for review.

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