Phoenix (AZ Family) — Arizona’s family is learning more about the victims of the surprise hostage, baby shooting, officer-involved shooting, standoff and fire situation from her mother’s best friend.
Linda Ogle said her friend Allie was doing everything she could to get out of a domestic violence situation, but no one expected it to escalate to this extent.
Allie lost her home and all her belongings in one day, and almost lost her 6-month-old baby, Jackson.
“Evil. There’s no other explanation than that he’s evil,” Ogle said.
Ogle calls it a scene from a horror movie. Allie and Jackson are living through an unimaginable nightmare as police say 51-year-old Todd Marchetti is responsible for a series of tragic incidents.
“There’s a lot of fear. She was really scared of him,” Ogle said.
Marchetti is Jackson’s father and Allie’s boyfriend of a year and a half. Detectives said Marchetti broke into a home in Surprise around 3 a.m. Friday and took Allie and Jackson hostage.
Ogle said Ally had recently moved there with her parents to escape Marchetti’s abuse, but Ally had been stalking her.
“He used an ax to go through one of the windows,” Ogle said. “He brought duct tape and rope, different shapes of pliers, and several different butcher knives.”
Ogle said the plan was to torture Ally for several days while her parents were away for the weekend, and Marchetti shot and killed the family dog in the process. She said they all went to the vet, but Ally was unable to escape at the time.
Ogle said Ally convinced him to talk to a construction worker who had returned to help repair the window he had broken. That crew member called 911, and police said Marchetti shot his son.
“She saved two lives, and I told her that over and over again. She said, ‘Oh, I wish I had taken Jackson out of the house with me,’ and if you had that baby… If you had picked him up and walked out the door with him, he said he would have fired at both you and Jackson. Neither of you would be here right now,” Ogle said.
Ogle says it’s a miracle Jackson is alive. She said he has undergone two surgeries so far and doctors are hopeful he will be successful.
“Yesterday he heard Allie’s voice and opened his eyes. He wiggles his toes. He grabbed my toes,” Ogle said. She has been by their side at the hospital since this happened.
After Jackson was rescued by a tactical team and taken to hospital, Marchetti refused to come out and a standoff ensued for several hours, police said.
Then a fire broke out and the house was completely destroyed. Ogle said Allie’s childhood home also burned down. “He wanted her to relive the trauma, and that’s exactly what he did,” she said.
On Saturday, investigators said they had found Marchetti’s body among the rubble. They believe he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“A big part of her heart wishes she could have had the family she wanted,” Ogle said.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help them rebuild and recover during this time. If you would like to donate, please click/tap here.
There are resources available to victims of domestic violence. Click/tap here for more information.
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