x
Breaking News
More () »

Kentucky neighbors surprised after arrest in triple homicide involving pilot

The neighbors in a small rural town in Kentucky are surprised an arrest was made in a 2015 triple homicide involving an American Airlines pilot.

PEMBROKE, Ky. (WHAS11) – Christian Martin is currently in the Christian County Jail, nearly three hours south of Louisville. We tried to interview Christian Martin who declined to give a statement at this time.

We headed ten miles Southeast to Pembroke where the murder happened and talked with neighbors who knew Martin and the victims.

“I hope they’ve got enough proof to proof that he did it. But I don’t think he did it,” says Bill Watkins, who was Christian Martin’s next-door neighbor in 2015.

Pembroke is a rural town. They have a Strawberry Festival, neighbors help each other, “It’s a nice little town, I raised three children here.”

Watkins showed us how close the houses were. Martin’s house just across the street from Ed Dansereau and Pamela and Calvin Phillips. He doesn’t believe Martin did this crime. But other neighbors I spoke with say they thought Martin was the person responsible from day one.

Credit: Christian County Detention Center
Christian Martin

“I want to see what they have, I want to know what they could have. He’s given his DNA, they sent a SWAT team to the house,” says Michael Thompson who is Martin’s Criminal Defense Attorney.

Thompson questioning why the indictment came now, “there are other people they need to be looking at and they’ve been made aware of who they need to be looking at. Hopefully we’ll get the Grand Jury tapes, see what’s presented and go from there.”

RELATED: Pilot arrested at Louisville airport, indicted for 2015 triple murder

RELATED: Neighbor reacts to American Airline pilot's arrest for murder

The murders happened over four years ago, and while Watkins says the area hasn’t changed too much, they do lock their doors more often, “we’re more cautious about what we do around here, we watch the neighborhood more.”

Martin was denied bond and will be arraigned next Wednesday at 11 a.m.

Contact reporter Kristin Goodwillie at KGoodwillie@whas11.com and follow her on Twitter and Facebook  

►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.

Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.

Before You Leave, Check This Out