Colleagues give emotional on-air goodbye after sports reporter dies in suspected murder-suicide

Colleagues at a local Alabama news station delivered a poignant farewell to former sports reporter and teacher, Christina Chambers, who was found dead Tuesday morning alongside her husband, Johnny Rimes, in an apparent murder-suicide — with her 3-year-old son unharmed nearby.WBRC 6, a Fox-affiliate station in Birmingham, aired a heartfelt tribute to Chambers on Tuesday night that commended her relentless work ethic and kind-hearted spirit. “Christina Chambers had a beautiful ability to naturally feel like a friend immediately,” said reporter Gillian Brooks.“Many at WBRC are in shock that they are talking about Christina, this bright light, in the past tense,” Brooks added, “However, the WBRC family is reflecting on the impact she will have on their lives forever.”Chambers worked with WBRC in a full-time capacity from 2015 to 2021 until transitioning to a teaching position, but she continued with the station as a freelance sideline reporter during the 2025 football season.She arrived on the scene as the only woman on WBRC’s sports team, but it was a group that she “folded into perfectly,” as Brooks put it.Her team included Rick Karle, Jeh Jeh Pruitt and producer Brian Pope, each of whom reflected on their relationship with Chambers on the broadcast.“She made the sideline better, she made this TV station better, and she made everyone in the newsroom better,” Karle said. Added Pope: “The best disposition — and you can tell by all the people she worked with, all the interviews she’s done — is how much people love her.”“I would tell anyone out there watching, if you want to mirror something about Christina, mirror how she loved what she did.She did everything 180 percent,” said Pruitt, who had run into Chambers a week prior to the Super 7 football tournament and was “grateful” for the chance to hug her and tell her he loved her one last time.Bringing the same drive and compassion to the classroom, Chambers helped establish the...