An Arizona man and his mother were arrested Monday after his father’s body was found dismembered inside a burning barrel, authorities said.
Fire personnel in Casa Grande discovered portions of a human body inside a 55-gallon metal barrel while responding to a structure fire at 200 North Brown Avenue around 1:40 a.m., the Casa Grande Police Department said in a news release.
Firefighters also saw a person fleeing the property, according to authorities, but the individual refused to listen to their orders to stop.
About 30 minutes later, police said 32-year-old Christopher Chase called 911 and stated that he disposed of a body by setting it on fire and then ran away when the fire department showed up.
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Chase was detained nearby in the 200 block of North Morrison Avenue.
Investigators said Chase had held a 57-year-old female, a 68-year-old male and a 41-year-old male at gunpoint at a home on the block. Chase had demanded keys to their vehicle before ultimately calling 911 to turn himself over to police. None of these victims were physically injured.
Detectives learned that Chase and his father, 57-year-old Thomas Chase, were involved in a physical altercation on Saturday. The incident led to Chase shooting his father at his home in the 1700 block of North Terrace Circle and then dismembering the body, investigators said.
Authorities said that following the shooting, Chase’s mother, 56-year-old Melissa Lynne Chase, helped to conceal and clean up evidence of the killing.
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Both Chase and his mother were booked into the Pinal County Adult Detention Center. They each face charges of abandonment/concealment of a dead body and tampering with evidence. Christopher Chase faces additional charges of murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault and burglary.
A medical examiner is working to determine Thomas Chase’s exact cause of death.
Police said that despite the two arrests, the investigation remains ongoing.
