The former Army major and commercial airline pilot accused of murdering three neighbors in Pembroke in November of 2015 was back in court Wednesday and is getting a new attorney.
Fifty-one-year-old Christian ‘Kit’ Martin was indicted in May for three counts of murder, arson, attempted arson, first-degree burglary and three counts of tampering with physical evidence. Appearing before Circuit Judge John Atkins, defense attorney Michael Thompson filed a motion to withdraw from the case and have a public defender appointed to represent Martin.
Martin confirmed that he does not have the assets needed to afford a private attorney.
Special prosecutor Assistant Attorney General John Heck had no objection to the request and informed the court they would soon hand over around 3,000 to 4,000 more pages of evidence.
A pretrial hearing was set for September 18, when Heck expects to turn over all the evidence and hopefully set a trial date.
The indictment stems from events that occurred on November 18, 2015, when Calvin Phillips was found shot to death in his home on South Main Street in Pembroke and the bodies of Pamela Phillips and Ed Dansereau were found in a burnt vehicle a few miles away in a corn field near Rosetown Road.
Martin had moved to North Carolina since 2015 and he had been working as a pilot for PSA Airlines, a subsidiary of American Airlines.
He remains in the Christian County Jail without bond.