3 People Fatally Shot on Thanksgiving; Youth Pastor Arrested

Victims are suspect's wife, her daughter, her daughter's boyfriend
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 25, 2017 11:39 AM CST
Youth Pastor Arrested in Thanksgiving Triple Murder
Christopher Gattis   (Chesterfield County, Va. Police via AP)

A Virginia youth pastor has been charged in a triple murder after his wife, her daughter, and her daughter's boyfriend were found dead at a home in a Richmond suburb on Thanksgiving, the Washington Post reports. According to WWBT, the bodies of 58-year-old Jeanett Gattis and her 30-year-old daughter, Candice Kunze, were found in a house in Chester on Thanksgiving night. The body of Kunze's boyfriend, 36-year-old Andrew Buthorn, was found in the yard. All three lived at the house and had been fatally shot. Christopher Gattis, 58, was arrested at the scene. He's been charged with three counts of first-degree murder, the New York Daily News reports.

Grace Lutheran Church, where Christopher Gattis is a youth pastor, says it's "deeply saddened" by the incident and "asks for the prayers from the community as our congregation begins the process of addressing the grief being experienced by everyone involved." Jeanett Gattis' boss at Napier Realtors remembers her as a "wonderful lady," saying "it's just tragic beyond words." A neighbor of the family tells WTVR he "had no clue that they were having problems that I knew of, but behind closed doors is behind closed doors." No motive for the killings has been identified. (More murder stories.)

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