Media

Arlington Man Shoots And Kills His Girlfriend Then Himself

Release Date: June 24, 2005

A domestic dispute involving a couple who lived together in Arlington led to their deaths this morning.

Just before nine o’clock, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office Dispatchers received a 9-1-1 call from their home in the 4900 block of Bending Trail.

When dispatchers answered the 9-1-1 call, no one was on the line. Dispatchers immediately returned the call and a young boy who answered said his mother had just been shot.

When Deputies arrived, they found Malinda Ortiz, 31, in the living room, dead of gunshot wounds. Three young boys who lived with the couple were inside the house but were not hurt.

Investigators later learned that Tommaso Rizzi, 42, who lived with Ms. Ortiz, was the person who shot her. Detectives say after shooting Ms. Ortiz, Mr. Rizzi took one of the boys, the couple’s three-year-old son, to his sister’s house.

After leaving the child at the house, Rizzi then walked outside to the driveway and shot himself.

Sheriff’s Deputies had been called to the couple’s home just three days ago. Just after one thirty in the morning on June 21st, Ms. Ortiz told Deputies Rizzi had pulled her hair and shoved her against a wall. Rizzi had already left the home when Deputies arrived.

After an extensive interview with Deputies, Ms. Ortiz said she would not pursue charges against Rizzi.

^ Return to Top