The man who shot his 6-month-old son multiple times during a hostage stand-off in a suburban home near Phoenix, that ended with the house burning to the ground, was found dead in the wreckage from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police in Surprise, Arizona were called to the home at about 11:30 a.m. on Friday, May 17 after a woman reported that she had her baby had been held hostage for hours by the baby’s father. The woman had escaped the house and borrowed a cell phone from a construction crew nearby, according to Police Sgt. Rick Hernandez.
Hernandez told reporters at a press conference that evening that when officers arrived at the home they heard gunfire coming from inside. Upon entering the house, the officers found the baby suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to his lower body but could not see the child’s father.
The child was quickly rescued from the house and transported to a nearby hospital. The boy’s mother, who suffered only minor injuries, was treated at the scene and then taken to the hospital to be with her baby.
Believing the suspect was still inside the house, SWAT officers surrounded the property while police tried to get the suspect to surrender himself. At about 3:00 p.m., a fire broke out inside the home. Video footage from a local news outlet helicopter showed a plume of thick smoke rising from the burning house.
After the fire was extinguished, investigators found the body of the suspect, who was later identified as Todd Christopher Marchetti.
The Surprise Police confirmed on May 18 that the 51-year-old Marchetti appeared to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. However, the official cause of death from the medical examiner was still pending.
Officials confirmed last Monday that the 6-month-old remained at Phoenix Children’s Hospital recovering from at least three operations.
According to police, the home, which was destroyed by the fire, belonged to the woman’s parents who were out of town at the time.
Sgt. Hernandez told reporters on Monday that the woman had reported Marchetti multiple times for domestic abuse but did not have a protection order against him.
