SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – They were brothers. They were fathers. And on a Tuesday afternoon, they were both gone — in an instant.
Dr. Christopher J. Marier, 42, and his brother Tyler M. Marier, 40, were killed July 7 when authorities say a convicted felon sped away from a traffic stop and broadsided their gray SUV at the intersection of South U.S. Highway 17-92 and Sunnytown Road in Casselberry. Now, a 14-year-old boy who lost his father and his uncle in that crash is speaking out — because he wants the world to know who they were, and the legacy he hopes to carry on.
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“A dad, a son, a brother, a husband. He did great things,” said Ben Marier, Chris’s son. “He saved lives as a cop. He built careers firsthand as a teacher.”
‘I just want people to see how really great he was’
Chris was a former North Port police officer who later earned his Ph.D. in Criminology and became an assistant professor of criminal justice at UCF. Ben says his father lived a life of service — and left behind lessons that will last a lifetime.
“He was very selfless,” Ben said. “He just wanted to make sure that none of the work that he put in or the value that he put into the world would be diminished.”
Tyler, Ben says, was equally irreplaceable. “My uncle, he’s one of the kindest. He’s the funniest guy I’ve ever met. If he gets the opportunity and he gets the chance to, he’ll help whoever he can.”
A legacy worth carrying
Ben says his father’s greatest goal was simple: raise sons who would surpass him.
“My dad always said, if one of my sons turns out to be better than me, then that’s a successful life,” Ben said. “We can always improve, and you guys can learn from my mistakes and build upon what I’ve set for you.”
That is exactly what Ben intends to do.
“He was always trying to be a better person and in the process of that, he was helping other people be better,” Ben said. “I’d rather have met him and lost him than never met him in the first place. So I don’t have any regrets, and I’m sure he didn’t.”
A message to others
Ben says he hopes his father’s and uncle’s deaths serve as a reminder not to take time with loved ones for granted.
“You tell yourself it’s not going to happen. And then it happens and you wish you were worried about it,” Ben said. “I just want to influence people to reach out and talk to your family members. Tell them you love them. Anything can happen on the next car ride.”
“I would do anything to get one more minute with my father or my uncle,” he said. “Just a day ago, it was not on my mind at all. And then now I would do anything — just tell him I love him again.”
How it unfolded
At approximately 11:51 a.m., Seminole County Sheriff’s Office deputies attempted to stop Wheaton on 25th Street near State Road 417 in Sanford on suspicion of fentanyl trafficking. Wheaton refused to stop and fled, authorities said.
The sheriff’s office says deputies made a deliberate decision not to pursue the vehicle out of concern for public safety and to reduce the risk of harm to innocent motorists. Instead, the Aviation Unit maintained continuous aerial surveillance from a safe distance.
According to authorities, Wheaton traveled southbound on U.S. Highway 17-92 at times exceeding 100 mph. At approximately 12:04 p.m. — just 13 minutes after the attempted traffic stop — his vehicle broadsided the Marier brothers’ SUV near Sunnytown Road in Casselberry.
What witnesses saw
Horrified drivers watched Wheaton’s car fly past them before smoke began rising from the scene.
“A car passed me at 100 mph and slammed right into another car,” one caller told 911.
Another witness described the chaos that followed after his car was sideswiped. “I just hear a boom and the car kept flying,” the witness said.
Wheaton was taken into custody at the scene before being transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center.
Suspect’s criminal history
Online court records show Wheaton has a criminal history in Seminole County dating back to 2016. Sanford police arrested him in January 2019 on charges of armed robbery with a firearm, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, battery, and grand theft after he and a co-defendant robbed two victims at gunpoint.
An arrest report obtained by News 6 describes how Wheaton and a co-defendant robbed a couple in Sanford, pressing firearms against the victims’ heads and stealing their phones and cash. He was convicted of robbery and sentenced to five years in prison.
Just over a year before Tuesday’s deadly crash, Wheaton was arrested again by the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office Gang and Habitual Offender Suppression Taskforce. On May 1, 2025, detectives discovered crack cocaine in a vehicle connected to Wheaton at Sylvan Lake Park in Sanford. At the time of that arrest, Wheaton was already on state probation for the armed robbery conviction and was being monitored with a GPS device.
UCF, North Port Police respond
Chris Marier served with the North Port Police Department from 2007 to 2013 before pursuing his Ph.D. in Criminology. He later joined UCF in August 2025 after serving as an assistant professor in the Department of Government and Justice Studies at Appalachian State University.
North Port Police released a statement remembering Chris as someone who “served our community with professionalism, integrity, and dedication.”
UCF also mourned his loss, saying in a statement: “Although his time at UCF was brief, Dr. Marier quickly became a valued member of our community. Through his teaching, scholarship, and mentorship, he inspired students and made meaningful contributions to the Department of Criminal Justice. We are grateful for the impact he made on our students and our community, and our thoughts are with those grieving his loss.”
Dr. Gene Paoline, professor and chair of UCF’s Department of Criminal Justice, called the loss deeply personal for the department.
“Our department is deeply saddened by this tragic and senseless loss, and our hearts are with Chris’ loved ones,” Paoline said. “He was a bright, accomplished, and thoughtful scholar who cared deeply about his students and colleagues. We are grateful for the time we had with him and the lasting impact he made on our department.”
Ben says he hopes his father’s story — and his uncle’s — will not be forgotten.
“It’s crazy how two paths can just intersect and have no relevance to each other at all, but create such a big impact,” he said.