On what should have been a festive Thanksgiving evening in 2017, the lives of three people, including 30-year-old Candice Kunze, were brought to a violent and tragic end in a home in Chester, Virginia. What began as a holiday gathering spiraled into a horrific act of domestic violence that left a family shattered and a community in shock.
Candice, along with her mother, 58-year-old Jeanett Gattis, and her 36-year-old boyfriend, Andrew Buthorn, were fatally shot on November 23rd.
The man responsible for their deaths was someone they should have been able to trust: Jeanett’s husband and Candice’s stepfather, 58-year-old Christopher Gattis, a youth pastor at a local church. The outward appearance of a happy family belied the long-standing tensions that simmered beneath the surface. Christopher Gattis reportedly disapproved of Candice and her boyfriend staying in the home, a point of friction that ultimately reached a deadly breaking point.
That Thanksgiving night, an argument erupted within the family home. The dispute escalated, prompting Gattis to retrieve a. 45 caliber handgun. He first shot his wife, Jeanett, and then his stepdaughter, Candice, inside the residence. Andrew Buthorn attempted to flee the carnage but was gunned down in the front yard. In the aftermath of the shootings, Gattis did not call 911; instead, he contacted his home alarm company, who then alerted the police. When officers arrived, they found a chilling scene: Christopher Gattis sitting calmly on his front steps, with Andrew Buthorn's body lying just a few feet away. The bodies of Jeanett and Candice were discovered inside the house.
Christopher Gattis was arrested at the scene and subsequently charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony. In the face of overwhelming evidence, he pleaded guilty to the charges. In August 2018, a judge sentenced him to 58 years in prison for the brutal slaying of his family. The devastating end to a day meant for gratitude left friends, neighbors, and his congregation grappling with the shocking reality of what had transpired behind closed doors.
