OC Deputy Who Shot Fiancée At Close Range Charged With Voluntary Manslaughter: DA

TUSTIN, CA — An Orange County sheriff’s deputy is charged with voluntary manslaughter after she shot her fiancée at close range last summer in their Tustin apartment, authorities said.

Aimee Alexis Hidalgo, 28, turned herself in to Tustin police on Monday after she was charged with a felony count of voluntary manslaughter and a felony enhancement of personal use of a firearm, the Office of the Orange County District Attorney announced Monday.

Hidalgo was assigned to the Orange County Jail, where her fiancée, 35-year-old Brittany Shaw, worked in correctional health, authorities said, adding the couple was planning a destination wedding in Mexico for November 2025.

Shaw had returned to the couple’s apartment after walking her dog around 5:20 a.m. Aug. 8, seconds before Hidalgo shot her nine times, including in the torso, right arm and head, according to the district attorney’s office, which noted the shot to the head was discharged at a distance of less than 8 inches.

Hidalgo called 911 and gave CPR to Shaw, but Shaw did not survive, according to the district attorney’s office.

“Human life is our most precious gift, and to lose the gift of life in your own home at the hands of someone you were engaged to is an indescribable tragedy,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a news release.

Hidalgo, who became an Orange County sheriff’s deputy in 2021, is on administrative leave, according to Spitzer’s office. If convicted of all counts, she faces up to 21 years in prison, authorities said.