An off-duty Orange County sheriff’s deputy has been charged with voluntary manslaughter after allegedly shooting her fiancée nine times inside their Tustin apartment last August. Aimee Alexis Hidalgo, 28, turned herself in to Tustin police on Monday and faces a maximum sentence of 21 years in state prison.
According to reporting on the case, the fatal shooting occurred on August 8.. Hidalgo allegedly shot her fiancée, 35-year-old Brittany Shaw, when Shaw returned home from walking the dog at around 5:20 a.m. Hidalgo told authorities she believed Shaw was an intruder when she fired.
Tustin police responded to the scene and found Shaw suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Hidalgo called 911 and performed CPR in an attempt to save Shaw’s life. Shaw was transported to Orange County Global Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
The couple had been planning a destination wedding in Mexico, scheduled for November 2025. Both women had ties to the Orange County Jail — Hidalgo as a deputy assigned there, and Shaw as the correctional health services chief with the Orange County Health Care Agency (HCA). Shaw had worked at the Intake Release Center for six years.
Veronica Kelley, director of the HCA, sent a memo to staff expressing grief over Shaw’s death. “Her loss will be felt deeply by those who knew her throughout all levels of the HCA and the county family,” Kelley wrote.
In addition to voluntary manslaughter, Hidalgo faces a felony enhancement charge for personal use of a firearm. She has been placed on administrative leave from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department pending the outcome of the investigation.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer addressed the charges directly in a news release. “The badge is not a shield from prosecution; rather it is a symbol of the oath a sworn officer takes to uphold the law, on and off duty,” Spitzer said. “When that oath is broken, the law applies equally to those with and without a badge and our duty to pursue justice for Brittany and all of those who loved her will be pursued in a court of law.”
Hidalgo’s case is expected to proceed through the Orange County court system. No trial date has been announced.
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