Prosecutors seek death penalty for man charged with killing ex-wife, another man

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Maricopa County prosecutors are now seeking the death penalty for a double murder suspect.

This case from January 2024 flew under the radar until now. We now know who the victims are and what happened.

This case appears to be an obsession with an ex-wife that started out as stalking but ended with her and another man’s death.

Anna Marie Chavez, 44, and Anthony Tate, 49, were found shot to death on Jan. 5, 2024, near Encanto Boulevard and 39th Avenue.

Phoenix Police said they learned the suspect, Paul Jon Thomas, had been in a prior relationship with Chavez, and evidence showed he had been stalking her for months before the murder.

A family member told Arizona’s Family that Thomas and Chavez had been married for a long time.

Documents show Thomas was charged with stalking in both August and September of 2023. In September, that charge noted a reasonable fear of death, which likely contributed to the apparent premeditation in this double murder.

The day after the killings, Thomas was found in Atlanta and extradited back to Arizona to face first-degree murder charges.

According to the City of Mesa, Chavez worked at the Mesa municipal court for seven years. Her daughter said her mom would have wanted her story told in hopes of helping other domestic violence victims.

As far as Tate’s life before his death, an online obituary from his family shows he worked as a cardiovascular technician in the Valley and was a devoted father.

We’ve now learned the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty on Christmas Eve.

The documents call Chavez’s murder especially heinous and cruel, stating she suffered mental, emotional or physical suffering at the hands of Thomas before her death.

While he’s facing first-degree murder for both Chavez and Tate, court records reveal the County plans to call the medical examiner to testify in the penalty phase, specifically to show additional autopsy and crime scene photos of Chavez’s murder.

Arizona’s Family has reached out to family members of both victims, hoping to learn more about them and their lives, but has not heard back from most of them.

As of now, Thomas’ murder trial is slated for this July.

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