Who is Ivanna Lisette Ortiz? Rihanna shooting suspect indicted on 14 felony counts

Ivanna Lisette Ortiz, a 36-year-old woman from Orlando, Florida, has emerged at the centre of the criminal case involving an alleged shooting at Rihanna and A$AP Rocky’s Los Angeles-area home.

A grand jury has now indicted Ortiz on 14 felony counts, including attempted murder, bringing renewed attention to her background and what is known about her before the March 8 shooting.

Who is Ivanna Lisette Ortiz?

Ortiz is from Orlando, Florida, and public records and court documents identify her as a licensed speech pathologist.

According to reporting by The Associated Press, she had worked in the profession for more than a decade and had no known criminal record before the case.

She was 35 when she was initially charged in March and is now 36. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office identifies her date of birth as June 20, 1990.

There is no publicly established personal relationship between Ortiz and Rihanna. Authorities have also not publicly provided a definitive motive for the alleged shooting.

What is Ortiz accused of?

Prosecutors allege that Ortiz travelled from Florida to California before driving to Rihanna's Beverly Crest property on March 8. According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, she arrived at the home at about 1:20 p.m. and allegedly fired a semiautomatic rifle multiple times at the property.

Investigators allege that the gunfire struck parts of the property, including an Airstream trailer where Rihanna and A$AP Rocky were present.

Bullets also struck the exterior wall of a nursery where the couple's three children were with their nanny, according to court and police accounts reported by the Associated Press and Los Angeles Times.

No one was injured in the shooting.

Ortiz was arrested later that day in Sherman Oaks, according to prosecutors. She was subsequently charged with attempted murder and other felony offences.

What charges does Ivanna Ortiz face?

A Los Angeles County grand jury returned an indictment against Ortiz on June 18, which was unsealed on September 30.

The indictment contains one count of attempted murder, 10 felony counts of assault with an assault weapon, and three felony counts of shooting at an inhabited dwelling or camper.

The 10 assault counts correspond to people who were on the two properties during the alleged shooting, prosecutors said.

Ortiz pleaded not guilty. She is being held on bail of about $2.65 million and could face life in state prison if convicted as charged.

What did Ortiz say after her arrest?

Investigators said Ortiz denied trying to kill Rihanna after her arrest. According to the Associated Press, she told investigators, ‘I wasn't attempting murder.’

Her defence has otherwise not publicly laid out a detailed account of the allegations.

Did Ivanna Ortiz know Rihanna?

Authorities have not identified a known personal relationship between Ortiz and Rihanna.

However, investigators have examined Ortiz's social-media activity before the shooting.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Ortiz had posted about celebrities and had made posts concerning Rihanna in the weeks before the alleged attack.

One February post reportedly tagged Rihanna and told the singer to address her directly.

Prosecutors have not publicly established that those posts explain the alleged shooting or provided a definitive motive.

What happened with Ortiz's mental competency?

The criminal case was temporarily paused while Ortiz underwent psychiatric evaluation. The details of those evaluations remain sealed.

On September 29, a Los Angeles County judge ruled that Ortiz was mentally competent to stand trial, allowing the criminal proceedings to resume.

The following day, the grand-jury indictment was unsealed. Her next pretrial hearing is scheduled for October 29.