Alabama is reeling after the heartbreaking news that former WBRC sports reporter Christina Chambers and her husband were found dead in their Hoover home on Tuesday, December 16, 2025.
Authorities say the deaths appear to be a murder-suicide, though the investigation is ongoing.
Miraculously, the couple’s 3-year-old child was unharmed.Gunshot wounds
According to the Hoover Police Department, 38-year-old Christina Chambers and her 41-year-old husband, Johnny Rimes Jr., were found unresponsive by a family member around 9 a.m. on Tuesday, prompting a 911 call.
First responders pronounced both adults dead from gunshot wounds. Authorities are still investigating the full circumstances, but police say there is no ongoing threat to the public. Officials believe Rimes shot Chambers before taking his own life, according to AL.com.Chambers, a devoted runner and former UAB track athlete, had gone for her usual morning run and returned home around 6 a.m. or shortly after.
Police arrived at the 700 block of Highland Manor Court, just off Sulphur Springs Road, shortly after 9 a.m.
The heartbreaking scene was discovered by Rimes’ parents, who became concerned when Chambers, Rimes, and their young son failed to show up for a Christmas program at Prince of Peace Catholic School in Hoover, where the family also attended church.
Impact beyond the newsroom
Christina Chambers’ impact extended far beyond the newsroom. She began her career covering local sports at WAKA in Montgomery and WLTZ NBC38 in Columbus, Georgia, before joining Comcast Sports Southeast in Atlanta, where she highlighted Auburn University and high school athletics.
She also freelanced for Raycom Media, covering state championship football and basketball games.
In 2015, she returned to her hometown to join WBRC in Birmingham, where she became a fixture on Sideline, the station’s Friday night high school football show.
Six years later, she shifted her focus to teaching, leading the broadcast journalism program at Thompson High School in Alabaster. Her students thrived under her guidance, earning top honors and recognition. Chambers herself was named Advisor of the Year in 2024 by the Alabama Scholastic Press Association.
Even after stepping away from full-time reporting, she returned as a freelancer during the 2025 football season and remained active in corporate communications at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama.
