Happy Friday! Try to stay cool today because the heat returns. Stay hydrated!
We're staying on top of the latest happenings from across the Valley, state, and our nation for Friday, May 8; here’s what you need to know as you start your day:
From Meteorologist Ashlee DeMartino - Heating up into Mother's Day weekend across Arizona!
The heat is on as triple digits return. It’s sunny and dry with a high of 100 degrees today.
Winds will be breezy at times with gusts up to 25 mph. For the weekend, highs will range between 104 and 110 degrees.
An Extreme Heat Watch has been issued for Sunday and Monday for the Phoenix metro area.
Charges dismissed against person of interest in Isabella Comas disappearance
The charges against a person of interest in the disappearance of a West Valley woman have been dismissed.
Tommy Rodriguez was never charged directly in the disappearance of Isabella Comas, but he was named by Avondale Police as the only person of interest in the case.
Comas, 21, was reported missing in January after she was last seen leaving a friend's home in Avondale.
ABC15 has covered Comas' case in-depth, even sitting down with Avondale Police and family members of the 21-year-old.
Court records showed her belongings, including her phone and car, had been found dumped in various locations around the Valley.
Police said her car was found days after her disappearance with a substantial amount of blood inside.
Phoenix Union High School District votes to rename Cesar Chavez High School
The Phoenix Union High School District voted on a new name for Cesar Chavez High School on Thursday.
The top five proposed names from the community were:
1. Laveen High School
2. Champion Community High School
3. Cactus Canyon High School
4. Laveen Village High School
5. Sierra Estrella High School
The district voted to change the name to Cactus Canyon High School.
"I’m really happy for our students. Cactus Canyon was the number one choice among our students,” Principal Robert Grant said. “We champion our community, we champion civil rights and justice and what’s good in this world.”
PXU made the decision to rename the school after serious allegations came out against Cesar Chavez in March.
'His dignity was taken away’: Family outraged after father, 89, left on assisted living floor for 22 hours
An 89-year-old man spent more than 22 hours naked and alone on the floor of a Gilbert assisted living facility without staff ever finding him in need of help.
Video from a motion-activated camera inside the room of 89-year-old James McHose captured footage of him lying on the floor, pleading for help.
"I'm watching it go from dark to light," said his daughter, Jamie Hammonds. "From day to night to day."
Hammonds was the one who found her father as she came by to check on him inside The Oaks Senior Living facility in Gilbert last month.
“I’m sad that his dignity was taken away from him, and he laid naked on the floor for 22-plus hours until I found him,” she said.
The video shows McHose, visibly frustrated, attempting to pull himself up and reach for items around him.
"He's trying. He's so frustrated that he can't get himself up because in his head, he should just be able to get up and walk, and he can't," Hammonds said.
The videos show the moments when Hammonds found her father on the floor as she stopped to drop off groceries for him.
She said she panicked, and went to get the staff and asked them to call 911.
Phoenix man sentenced to death for murdering estranged wife and two kids
A man convicted of killing his estranged wife and two children on Christmas Day in 2017 has been sentenced to death.
A judge made the decision in a Maricopa County court on Thursday.
“This defendant was supposed to protect his family; instead, he made a deliberate choice to take their lives on Christmas Day when his wife wouldn’t take him back,” said Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell. “Today's sentence reflects the gravity of what he did, and he deserves the ultimate punishment. Thanks to prosecutors Kirsten Valenzuela, Jordan Uglietta, and Richard Dusterhoft, there is justice for Iris, Nigel, and Anora.”
A jury found Anthony Milan Ross guilty in November of three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his estranged wife, 38-year-old Iris Ross, and their two children, 10-month-old Anora Ross and 11-year-old Nigel Ross.
Ross was also given 18 years in prison for 20 counts of aggravated assault.
According to court documents, Ross shot and killed Iris near 16th Street and Highland Avenue in Phoenix as she tried to run away from him. He then killed their two children, who were found dead inside the apartment where Ross had barricaded himself.
