A South Carolina man will spend the rest of his life in prison after a jury convicted him of murdering his ex-girlfriend and former best friend in a jealous rage.
On Monday, 45-year-old Ronnie Todd Jr. was found guilty of two counts of murder in the 2022 slayings of 30-year-old Emily Richitelli and 44-year-old John Altman. Prosecutors said Todd was furious that Richitelli had begun a relationship with Altman, who had once been his closest friend.
During the weeklong trial, the jury heard chilling text messages Todd sent in the days before the shooting, including threats such as, “I will blow their brains out and burn down the house” and “I’m killing some people when I get home. No question about that.” The panel took less than an hour to return a guilty verdict, and Circuit Court Judge Michael G. Nettles sentenced Todd to two consecutive life sentences.
According to prosecutors, Todd carried out his threats in the early morning hours of July 21, 2022, when he entered a Georgetown townhome and shot both victims multiple times. A key witness was Altman’s 9-year-old son, who was in the bathroom when the attack occurred.
The boy testified that he recognized Todd’s voice and heard his father shout “Ron, Ron, Ron” before gunfire erupted. After the shooting, the child ran to a neighbor’s home, telling her, “My dad’s been shot.” He identified Todd as the shooter to both the neighbor and 911 dispatchers.
Richitelli, a mother of a 13-year-old son, had rebuilt her life after overcoming drug addiction, working two jobs to provide for her child. Her sister, Christina Miller, tearfully recalled their last moments together at a family celebration, saying, “I never got to tell her how proud I was of her, and now I never will.”
Altman’s daughter also addressed Todd in court, saying, “He should be here to see me succeed in life, but he can’t because you killed him.”
Prosecutor Scott Hixson told the court that Todd’s actions were deliberate and fueled by jealousy, noting that Todd believed he had “cleared the whole house.” But despite his efforts, the surviving child’s testimony helped secure his conviction.
With no possibility of parole, Todd will spend the rest of his life behind bars, serving his sentence for the brutal murders that shattered two families.
