[AZ] Amanda Blaies Rinaldi died as she feared she might.

Amanda Blaies Rinaldi

Amanda's husband, Department of Corrections Officer Anthony Philip Rinaldi, is charged with 1st degree murder.

Amanda's best friend:
..."She was scared of him, but she wanted it to work, like any mother would, for her family... She said 'If anything happens to me, I want you to know who did it'"... 

Amanda's sister:
"My mom has told her so many times to get away... She kept on saying 'I love him'... He kept on yelling at her, cussing at her"...

Amanda's mom:
"She was a wonderful mother, a wonderful person. She's loved and liked by everyone, very smart, but very stupid when it came to this person. She always went for the underdog, she thought she could fix him... I tried my best to explain she's abused, she thought he would never do it, but she said, if something happens to me, look for him. She said that to numerous friends. She made a will. This is a sick situation. She was worried he may do something like this"...

Blaiesing Heart for Amanda Blaies
A fund set up by Amanda's friend to to help Amanda's mother care for the two young children:
Blaiesing Heart for Amanda Blaies
c/o Florida Community Bank
2400 N. Tamiami Trail #100

HEARING SET FOR MAN CHARGED WITH KILLING FORMER COLLIER COUNTY RESIDENT IN ARIZONA
news-press.com
Denes Husty III
Dec. 22, 2011
[Excerpts] A Dec. 27 preliminary court hearing is scheduled in Phoenix for a man accused of killing a former Collier County resident in Arizona. Anthony Rinaldi, 26, was charged Dec. 13 with second-degree murder in the shooting death of his wife, Amanda Blaies-Rinaldi, in her Phoenix-area home... Rinaldi is accused of following her to Arizona and then shooting her. On Tuesday, a grand jury indicted Rinaldi on a first-degree murder charge, according to Maricopa County court records. [Full article here]

FORMER NAPLES MAN ACCUSED OF KILLING WIFE IN ARIZONA FACES FIRST-DEGREE MURDER CHARGE
Naples Daily News
December 20, 2011
[Excerpts] A former Naples man accused of killing his wife in Phoenix is now charged with first-degree murder after his stepson's testimony bolstered the case. Anthony Rinaldi, 26, of Phoenix, who was arrested on a second-degree murder charge Dec. 13, faces life in prison if convicted of the first-degree murder charge involving Amanda Blaies-Rinaldi, 28. Blaies-Rinaldi attended Barron Collier High School and worked for years at Tommy Bahamas in Naples and Roy's Hawaian Fusion restaurant in Bayfront. Rinaldi, a Marine who said he "snapped" due to post-traumatic stress disorder, remains jailed and also faces a disorderly conduct charge. The couple met 2½ years ago in Naples. Blaies obtained a restraining order against him last year... "Aidan's testimony changed it," said Tori Anderson, Blaies' best friend and godmother to Blaies' 7-year-old son... [Full article here]

EARLIER:

File: 2010 Protection order application [PDF]

POLICE: CHILDREN HEAR FATAL SHOOTING OF MOTHER
KPHO
By Phil Benson, Elizabeth Erwin, Steve Stout
Posted: Dec 13, 2011 7:51 PM PST
Updated: Dec 14, 2011 10:50 AM PST
[Excerpts] The man who police say confessed to shooting his wife while one of his children was on the phone to a 911 operator Tuesday night is a detention officer for the state Department of Corrections. Police said 26-year-old Anthony Philip Rinaldi was booked into jail on a charge of second-degree murder in the shooting death of his wife, 28-year-old Amanda Blaies-Rinaldi. Rinaldi had worked at the Lewisville facility... [Full article here]

LOVED ONES REMEMBER BARRON COLLIER GRAD MURDERED IN ARIZONA
WINK News
Dec 14, 2011
[Excerpts] WINK News is learning a brutal homicide in Arizona has a direct connection to Collier County. A 28-year-old Naples woman is allegedly murdered by her husband while while her two sons are in the next room on the phone with 911. It happened just outside of Phoenix Arizona. The mother, Amanda Blaies Rinaldi grew up in Naples and graduated from Barron Collier High School. Her husband, Anthony Rinaldi, is a corrections officer, now behind bars after confessing to killing his wife Amanda. Police say when they arrived, they found the two boys, ages two and seven with the body of their mother. The oldest son had called 911 and told operators his parents were fighting... Police say after the shooting, Rinaldi left the house and drove until he saw an officer doing a traffic stop. That's when he pulled over, got out of the car, and told the officer he had just shot his wife... Friends and family tell WINK News Amanda and Anthony had a strained relationship with a history of violence. "It's not right, it's not fair," says Tori Anderson, Amanda's best friend and the Godmother to her oldest son. Anderson describes her friend as a good spirited, family oriented person. "Someone just ripped this wonderful person from our lives and right now I just don't know how to get through it because I need answers. I need to know why"... Amanda's mother, Pamela Blaies, spoke to WINK News on the phone from Phoenix. She says their relationship was abusive from the beginning. "She was a wonderful mother, a wonderful person. She's loved and liked by everyone, very smart, but very stupid when it came to this person. She always went for the underdog, she thought she could fix him... I tried my best to explain she's abused, she thought he would never do it, but she said, if something happens to me, look for him. She said that to numerous friends. She made a will. This is a sick situation. She was worried he may do something like this"... [Full article here]

POLICE: CORRECTIONS OFFICER 'SNAPPED' BEFORE SHOOTING WIFE
KPHO
By Elizabeth Erwin
Posted: Dec 15, 2011
[Excerpts] A former soldier says he "snapped" and his military training kicked in before he shot his wife to death in Ahwatukee Tuesday night, according to Phoenix police. The death of Amanda Blaies Rinaldi also left two children without their mother, and her husband behind bars. Anthony Rinaldi worked as a detention officer at the Perryville prison.... "We're devastated. Devastated," said Pamela Blaies, Amanda's mother. Pamela Blaies is having to adjust to hearing the news her daughter had been murdered... Pamela Blaies says her daughter's husband has a violent history. "He's been violent ever since she's known him," Pamela said, adding that he had military training. "He was a sniper. He knew exactly how to fire a gun," she said... Court documents suggest PTSD might have played a part in Tuesday night's shooting. But Pamela Blaies disagreed. "He had issues from his childhood," she said. Pamela Blaies said Rinaldi has always been an angry person. Amanda's two children are with their grandmother. She says they're coping pretty well, and that the 7-year-old said he'll see his mom soon - in heaven. [Full article here]

NAPLES WOMAN KILLED IN ARIZONA TRIED TO FLEE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, FAMILY SAYS
Naples Daily News
By Victoria Macchi, Aisling Swift
Posted December 15, 2011 at 10:23 p.m.
Amanda Blaies-Rinaldi's family desperately tried to get her away from her abusive husband. They encouraged the 28-year-old woman to move from Naples to Arizona, where they lived, to put distance between the couple. "My mom has told her so many times to get away," said her sister Lea Miller, 35. "She kept on saying 'I love him.'... He kept on yelling at her, cussing at her," Miller said. Collier County court records show that in May 2010, Blaies-Rinaldi filed a petition against her "soon-to-be ex-husband" and obtained a temporary order of protection for her and her sons. But it was dismissed when she didn't show up for a hearing... Blaies-Rinaldi's mother said they begged her to leave. She tried to break free. She went to Arizona with her sons, obtained her child care license and ran a day care at home. But Anthony Rinaldi followed. "She was scared of him, but she wanted it to work, like any mother would, for her family," said Tori Anderson, a Naples hairdresser, Blaies-Rinaldi's best friend and godmother to her oldest son. "She said 'If anything happens to me, I want you to know who did it.' She was so strong" Anderson said of Blais-Rinaldi, who worked at Tommy Bahamas and Roy's Restaurant. "She fought and fought for her life and she overcame cancer. This man just took it away.”... The arrest report said Anthony Rinaldi had control issues, a history of domestic violence and violence against children or animals. It lists "possible mental issues, including military PTSD"... Pamela Blaies said that conflicts with the history of domestic violence her daughter suffered. "This is the final thing he did," Pamela Blaies said. "He did it to take her away (because) he hated us all." Pamela Blaies now has custody of the children... [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities murder jailer guard arizona state politics]