Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder and assault. Reader discretion is advised.
Former American Airlines pilot and convicted murderer Christian Martin is serving life in prison for the 2015 Pembroke triple murders. Dateline NBC looks into the case against Martin in Pamela and Calvin Phillips and their neighbor Edward Dansereau’s triple murders.
The upcoming episode titled “The Evil That Watches” airs on the network on Sunday, February 4, 2024, at 9 p.m. ET. An official synopsis states, “A triple murder sends shockwaves through a small Kentucky town. As secrets come tumbling out, residents begin to wonder: how well do we really know our neighbors? Keith Morrison reports.”
Prosecutors had alleged that Christian Martin intended to kill Calvin Phillips only to prevent him from testifying in an upcoming court-martial trial. Accusations alleged that Martin fatally shot Calvin at the Phillips’ home on November 18, 2015, per ABC. He then murdered Pamela Phillips and Edward Dansereau because they stumbled upon the crime scene. Following this, he drove Pamela’s and Dansereau’s bodies to a cornfield in a car and set the vehicle on fire.
In June 2021, a jury convicted Christian Martin on multiple counts of murder, burglary, and arson charges. He received life in prison without parole for murder and additional terms on the other counts. Prison records state that Martin is currently serving time in the Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex.
What was Christian Martin accused of?
Christian Martin’s arrest in connection with the triple murders of Pamela and Calvin Phillips and their neighbor Edward Dansereau came in May 2019. Police arrested Christian at the Louisville International Airport shortly before the flight’s takeoff, one day after his indictment. At the time, Martin was a pilot at PSA Airlines, a subsidiary of American Airlines, reported the New York Post.
Two years later, in 2021, a jury found Martin guilty of all charges against him. These included three counts of murder, one count of first-degree arson, one count of attempted arson, two counts of first-degree burglary, and three counts of tampering with physical evidence, per NBC News.
According to Kentucky’s prison records, following the murder conviction, he received life in prison without the possibility of parole. Additionally, he received a 20-year sentence on the burglary count and another five years for tampering with physical evidence.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced that the convicted murderer fatally shot Pamela and Calvin Phillips and Edward Dansereau on November 18, 2015. Calvin was found dead in the cellar of his Pembroke home. The bodies of Pamela and Dansereau were found inside a burned vehicle in a cornfield a few miles away from the house.
The outlet reported that the Kentucky Attorney General’s office took over the case in 2017, and prosecutors finally zeroed in on Christian Martin. By then, he had moved from Kentucky to North Carolina and had started working as a PSA Airlines pilot.
What was Christian Martin’s motive for murder?
At his trial, prosecutors argued that Christian Martin committed the murders two weeks before Calvin Phillips was to testify in a military court-martial trial. The defendant, who served in the Army from 1986 to 2016, faced multiple charges that stemmed from a case revolving around his ex-wife, Joan Harmon. Reportedly, Harmon accused Martin of physical and sexual abuse and mishandling classified military materials.
Nonetheless, the court-martial eventually convicted Martin of mishandling classified information and assault on a child under the age of 16. This caused his dismissal from the Army. He also received 90 days in jail and had to forfeit all pay and allowances, as per NBC.
However, Christian Martin claimed that Calvin Phillips was going to be his “star witness” in the court-martial trial. He said that he had no motive to kill him. Previously, in an April 2016 interview with NBC affiliate WSMV, Martin had claimed that he suspected Harmon had a long-term affair with Calvin. He said, “They were together all day long, and they didn’t really try to hide it or anything like that.” However, he alleged that he wasn’t jealous and was, in fact, grateful to the victim.
Law & Crime reported that at Christian Martin’s triple homicide trial, Assistant Attorney General Barbara Whaley described the murders as “a cold-blooded, calculated, military-style operation.” She claimed that only he had the means and motive to carry out the murders. Whaley also mentioned that forensics had matched a bullet casing from the crime scene to a .45-caliber firearm police found in a safe in Martin’s home.
NBC Dateline’s episode on the case against Christian Martin in the 2015 Pembroke triple murders will air on February 4, 2024.
