Years of strife between prominent Phoenix lawyer James Arthur Eaves and a younger, troubled brother ended in gunfire, according to accounts police took from family members during an initial homicide investigation.
The 51-year-old Eaves, a husband and father affectionately known as “Artie,” died in a March 21 shooting at his home in a wealthy northeast Phoenix enclave. Christopher Brett Eaves, 49, was charged with first-degree murder. The men’s parents told police the surviving brother calmly drove them to the crime scene after they learned of their eldest’s death.
Family accounts given to police illustrate a picture of two men who were professionally accomplished and close before growing apart after the younger brother’s reported mental health decline.
A 40-caliber firearm that matched casings recovered at the shooting was found on Christopher Eaves’ nightstand, according to police. A sweatshirt seen on Christopher Eaves on video surveillance while arriving at his brother’s home was recovered in their parents’ BMW, Phoenix police said. Christopher Eaves was taken into custody at his brother’s home as family members looked on, according to police.
After success, younger brother’s life veered into drug use, family said
The brothers were best friends growing up in a Christian home, their mother, Anita Eaves, told police.
They reached success in their chosen career paths. James Eaves was a senior owner and director at the law firm Sanders & Parks at the time of his death. Formerly a Maricopa County prosecutor, his practice was medical malpractice defense.
Christopher Eaves had a mechanical engineering degree from Arizona State University and joined his mother in medical equipment sales, she said in a conversation with police. When she joined another company, she brought him along to design medical devices before he became CEO there, Anita Eaves told police.
James Eaves married and became a dad to three loving children, police learned from the family.
Christopher Eaves, meanwhile, never married and instead became involved with different women who negatively influenced him, the family told police. This included drug use he started during a long-term relationship, according to the family’s account to police.
Younger brother previously approached with loaded gun, family said
James Eaves’ wife, Emily Eaves, said Christopher Eaves used methamphetamine and fentanyl. He showed up to his brother’s law firm acting “crazy,” and the couple hired security because they felt unsafe, she told police.
Christopher Eaves owned firearms, mainly pistols, the brothers’ father, Howard Eaves, said to police.
Their mother told police that her youngest was unemployed and, at different points, claimed he was the U.S. president and CEO of the tech giant Meta. His parents told police he was seeing psychiatrists, one of whom indicated that Christopher Eaves was safer with them. A psychiatrist said if Christopher Eaves were involuntarily committed, he would eventually end up on the streets, and so he resided with his parents in their Scottsdale home, police learned from Anita Eaves.
The brothers had not seen each other in nearly a year, their mother said to police.
Within two years of the shooting, Christopher Eaves appeared at his brother’s home with a loaded gun, Emily Eaves told police. James Eaves spent hours that night talking to his brother, who was high on drugs and said he thought someone was following him, she told police. After this, James Eaves forbade Christopher Eaves from returning, she said, according to the police account.
At one point, Christopher Eaves emailed James Eaves’ law firm, accusing his brother of being a pedophile and a murderer, Howard Eaves told police.
But Emily Eaves told police that her husband was concerned his brother may have been trying to groom their oldest daughter — a college student at the time of the shooting — when she was a minor.
The daughter said that when she was a girl, her uncle gifted her bondage wear, described how he tied up former girlfriends and showed her photos he took of nude women being bound, her mother told police.
James and Emily Eaves were angered, prompting James Eaves to confide in his wife how once in the mid-1990s, he came across nude images of seemingly underage girls on Christoper Eaves’ laptop when the younger brother was at ASU, Emily Eaves told police.
Slain brother was in ‘good mood’ morning he died, family said
The night before James Eaves was killed, Christopher Eaves and their father, Howard Eaves, had what Howard Eaves described to police as a “normal” conversation. Anita Eaves told police that Christopher Eaves sat down with them to watch racecar driving on TV. The next morning, he did not make breakfast, which was typical for him, his mom told police.
That same morning, James Eaves was in a good mood, drove his younger daughter to school, and planned to take the family’s dog to the veterinarian, his family members said in their accounts to the police. Emily Eaves told police her husband was unarmed that morning, as he had stopped carrying years ago.
She told police she texted him later, asking how the visit to the vet went, but never received a response from her husband.
Before an arrest was made, Howard Eaves told police he suspected Christopher Eaves was responsible, remarking that his youngest son left home early that morning despite rarely leaving and was away during the shooting’s timeframe.
The Eaves brothers’ mother said in a conversation with police following the arrest that she and Howard Eaves would not post bond for their youngest son. Anita Eaves told police he needed to be in a mental institution.
Christopher Eaves has a court hearing slated for Aug. 7 to determine his mental competency for trial.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Many red flags before Phoenix lawyer’s fatal shooting, police say