Christian Martin – Kentucky Murder Suspect

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Christian Martin - car on fire

Christian Martin – A burning car, two dead bodies, and a third victim found nearby.  Who could have committed these murders and what was their motive?  Listen to a real who done it and try to figure out who had the most to gain by these untimely deaths.

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Pembroke, Kentucky

Pembroke is located in Christian County, Kentucky. It is part of the Clarksville, Tennessee metropolitan area. Their population is approximately 869 people according to the 2010 census, and covers about 1.1 square miles. It’s a small southern town located in the western part of the state bordering Tennessee.

November 19, 2015

In November of 2015 a car is discovered burning near a cornfield about a mile outside of the town of Pembroke off of Rosetown Road. When the fire is extinguished, fire department and police officials discover a body burned beyond recognition. They would soon come to find out that there was not one, but two skeletal remains inside the car.

Police were able to trace the car to an address in Pembroke. 443 South Main Street, which belongs to Calvin & Pam Phillips. Police obtained a search warrant and found a man lying on the floor dead with gunshot wounds to his chest. The three victims would be identified as:

  • Calvin Phillips, age 58 – he was the victim found in the home
  • Pamela Phillips, age 53
  • Ed Dansereau, age 63, a neighbor of the Phillips

Police began looking for a link, besides being neighbors, that would put these three in the cross-hairs of a killer or killers. By all accounts, none of the three had criminal histories or were involved in anything nefarious.

November 20, 2019

The next day, another neighbor, Army Major Christian “Kit” Martin,  was surprised by a SWAT Unit showing up at his door. He was taken into custody by military police. Martin would remain in custody for four days. He was named a person of interest by the Christian County Investigators and Army Investigators.

Major Christian “Kit” Martin, had made a career out of serving in the Army. He was stationed at nearby Fort Campbell, which is about 30 to 45 minutes from Pembroke. A search warrant was obtained by investigators for Martin’s home and three vehicles looking for blood, bodily fluids, hair, fingerprints, or any evidence linking him to the murders.

What investigators would soon discover was that Calvin Phillips was to testify against Major Martin in an upcoming court-martial. Calvin Phillips was the government’s witness. The trial was scheduled to take place two weeks after the murders. Martin was accused by his ex-wife of sexual assault/molesting two children and not caring properly for classified information.

During the police search, a surveillance camera was taken from Martin’s residence. His lawyer claims that it will show that Martin was at home around 2 am on the morning of November 15th. Why is 2 am important? A potential witness heard noises coming from the field next to his house where the car was eventually found burned.

Christian Martin Court Martial

Major Martin’s court-martial continued as scheduled even though he was a person of interest in the triple murders of his neighbors. He was found guilty of two counts of mishandling classified material and two counts of assault of a child. He was found not guilty of two counts of rape of a child and communicating a threat.

Martin had been accused of beating his step-son and other step-children. The mishandling of information came from military CDs and a laptop that was found in his home and turned over to the FBI. Martin served 6 months in a military prison and was discharged from the Army. After his release, he moved to North Carolina.

Linking the murders

Joan Harmon was married to Christian Martin and they were the neighbors of the Phillips and Dansereau. Joan and Christian were going through a divorce, with Joan claiming that Martin was physically and sexually abusing her and her three children. In 2012 a judge denied a domestic violence order in favor of Joan Harmon stating that she did not meet the burden of proof necessary to receive the order. The Phillips believed Harmon and even offered one of their rental properties for her and the kids to move into.

Joan Harmon stated in an interview with a local news reporter that Pam was a “second mom to her” and Cal was “incredible.” Calvin Phillips had even helped Joan gather up some of her belongings one day and that is when they discovered military CDs that had the word “secret” written on them and the military computer among a pile of blankets. Calvin and Joan turned them over to the FBI believing that Martin should not have been in possession of such classified material.

Calvin Philips also come across a photograph of Harmon’s son that showed him with red welts all over his back. This is what lead to Martin being court-martialed. Had Martin been found guilty on all counts, Joan Harmon would have received a settlement from the military for up to six figures. It called Transitional Compensation Benefits.

After Joan moved out she, the Phillips, and Dansereau all took a concealed weapons carry class together. The police confirmed this with the organizers of the class.

Preparing for Christian’s Court Martial

Christian “Kit” Martin hired a team of private investigators to work on his case. These investigators interviewed Calvin Phillips in his home about 2 weeks before the murders. They asked him why he turned over the classified materials to the FBI. Calvin’s answer was when I see that amount of classified information, I look at it as “this isn’t supposed to be here.” The PI’s asked what Joan Harmon had told him regarding her relationship with Martin. Calvin’s repose was “that she was afraid of him and concerned for her welfare.”

When they asked about the molestation claims Calvin stated that she never told him that Martin had molested the kids. They specifically asked about Joan’s claim that Kit had raped, sodomized, and beat her. Calvin’s responded no. They even asked about Calvin and Joan having an affair. Calvin stated that he wasn’t going to elaborate about what he was going to testify to.

During Joan Harmon’s interview with the TV journalist after the murders, she denied having an affair with Calvin Phillips stating that her ex-husband has been trying to push that theory for years. In the Disclosure of Evidence form from the state that was handed down in 2019, a former officer with the Pembroke Police claimed to have walked in on Calvin Phillips and a female engaging in sex at Calvin’s warehouse.  He waited outside and 15 minutes later he saw Joan Harmon exit the warehouse

Interviews

Kit Martin gave an interview in which he stated that he did not murder Phillips or Dansereau. He identified Calvin Phillips as being his star witness based upon the information recorded from the PI interview. He also claimed that Harmon wanted revenge and that soon after the murders a woman had called into the local news station and stated a “Major Chris Martin in the yellow house across the street there is evidence of the murders.”

Interviewed at a later time, Matt Phillips, son of Calvin and Pam had told investigators that his mother had told him that she had seen their neighbor, Kit Martin, walking in the fields by their house. “My parents felt like they were being surveilled.”

Joan Harmon Twist

It has come to light that Joan was married to another man while married to Kit Martin. She plead guilty to bigamy because, according to her, she didn’t have the money to fight the charge. In May 2016 she was given 5 years unsupervised pre-trial diversion.

Martin’s Arrest (3 ½ years after the murders)

  • On May 11, 2019, Christian “Kit” Martin was arrested and charged with three counts of murder, two counts of burglary in the first degree, 3 counts of tampering with physical evidence
    • Martin was arrested while waiting to board a flight he was piloting soon to depart for Charlotte, N.C.. for a subsidiary of American Airlines  This arrest occurred at the Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville
      • In 2018 Martin became a pilot
      • American Airlines did complete a background check, but it showed no felonies attributed to Martin until his arrest 
      • His record did not show a felony for “assault of a child” conviction from his court-martial because military court convictions, depending on what state and what base, transfer differently to civilian criminal records
      • Assault or battery of a child transferred to simple assault and did not disqualify Martin from being a commercial pilot
  • The indictment handed down claimed that Martin shot all three victims in the Phillip’s home.  He then transferred Pam and Ed’s bodies to Pam’s car, drove out of town onto an isolated road, and set the car on fire.  He then returned to the Phillips home and tried to burn that down also.

Martin Pleads Not Guilty

Christian Martin was at Christian County Kentucky Courthouse
Christian County Kentucky Courthouse (Public Domain)

Martin pleads not guilty in court. There is also a charge of complicity in the indictment meaning that the state believes Martin worked with another person to commit the murders. This person has not been identified. Martin is being held in the Christian County Jail. His bond is set at 3 million dollars; 1 million for each victim.

Circuit Court Judge John Atkins complied with the state’s request for bond as he felt that Martin was a flight risk and had the talent and ability to disappear. The judge referenced Martin’s use of social media and using aliases to conceal his identity on social media. The judge stated this was “disturbing.”

At an adversarial bond hearing on October 17, 2019, Lt. Scott Smith, the lead investigator for Christian County took the stand. He testified that Martin had allegedly created multiple social media accounts on Facebook using various aliases and had several cell phones and email addresses under several different names. He also testified that investigators were able to retrieve phone transcripts between Martin and some of his family members where he asked them to set up a P.O. Box in California under a name other than his own.

The defense asked for bond to be set at $500,000 as 3 million was excessive, but that was denied.  DNA testing is taking place but could take up to 6 months or more so no trial date has been set and Christian Martin remains incarcerated.

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