Surprising domestic violence incident: New details and footage

PHOENIX – Authorities shared new details Monday about a complex domestic violence case in Surprise that left a 7-month-old baby shot and a house fire last week.

According to Surprise Police, 51-year-old Todd Christopher Marchetti terrorized his baby’s mother and her seven-month-old child on May 17, 2024.

The mother, identified as Allie during a news conference Monday, was trying to leave him and escape the cycle of domestic violence, police said.

She and her baby were surprisingly alone in her parents’ home when Marchetti broke in around 3 a.m., police said.

Marchetti entered through a window armed with a machete, Surprise police spokesman Sgt. Rick Hernandez said during a news conference Monday.

“He planned to harm her while her family was on vacation,” Hernandez said.

What followed was an hours-long hostage situation in which he shot her family’s dog and left Allie fearing for her son’s safety, police said.

Allie eventually escaped and found a construction crew nearby. One of the workers lent her a cellphone, which she used to contact authorities, police said. She immediately told police she feared her son was in danger.

How does the baby fare in a surprise case of domestic violence?

When officers arrived on scene, they heard gunshots coming from inside the home. Bodycam footage shared at Monday’s news conference shows officers breaking in and checking on the seven-month-old baby named Jaxson.

Police had no contact with Marchetti when she entered the home. The footage shows several police officers and a sniffer dog searching the house before finding Jaxson and immediately leaving the house with him.

Jaxson had multiple injuries to the lower half of his body, including his limbs, Hernandez said.

He said it was not certain how much time passed between Marchetti shooting Jaxson and when police arrived to rescue the baby.

However, he said officers arrived just in time to save Jaxson.

Surprise Fire Chief Brenden Espie said that when police left the home, they handed him over to a paramedic who began treating him.

“While initiating treatment, this paramedic located the assigned treatment team and coordinated the handoff of care,” Espie said.

The crew used advanced medical techniques to stabilize him so he was ready for flight to Phoenix Children’s Hospital, he added.

“Our medics performed Jaxson’s abdominal chest seal, applied direct pressure to the extremities to control bleeding, and initiated medical therapy, among other procedures, before Jaxson was airlifted,” Espie said.

As of Monday morning, Jaxson had undergone three surgeries. They were all doing well, which gave his family hope, authorities said.

How did the mother escape the hostage situation to find help?

After Marchetti injured her family’s pet, Allie asked him to go to a veterinarian, police said. She hoped that leaving the apartment would give her a chance to escape.

That didn’t happen, Hernandez said. Marchetti allegedly claimed the dog was a dog hit by a car and gave staff a false name and phone number.

The dog had to be euthanized because of the severity of the injuries, Hernandez said. The trip to the vet took place early in the morning, he added.

After they returned to the apartment, Allie appealed to Marchetti’s self-interest by saying she could find someone to repair the window he damaged when he broke into the house, police said.

“She said, ‘I can get workers to fix this and then no one will know what you did,’ and she was able to go out the window and seek help,” Hernandez said. “I think this saved not only her life, but Jaxson’s as well.”

Did the police interact with the suspect after the baby was rescued?

After rescuing Jaxson from the residence, negotiators tried several times to contact Marchetti, Hernandez said, but he allegedly refused to leave and fired shots.

“There has never been any positive contact, by phone, we have seen movement,” he said. “The entire time he refused to leave the house peacefully, we heard gunshots, even as the house burned. We still heard gunshots.”

The fire broke out around Friday afternoon. After the fire was extinguished and entry was safe, authorities found Marchetti’s remains. He appeared to have a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, police said.

According to authorities, the fire completely destroyed the house.

Anyone who would like to help the family rebuild can donate through a GoFundMe campaign.