Bullets Punctuate the End of a Love Affair

In a case that smacks of the movie “Fatal Attraction,” a former San Diego State University student has been charged with stalking her ex-lover for months, renting an adjacent apartment and then shooting him to death when he refused to rekindle their affair.

Linda Elizabeth Ricchio, 27, was obsessed with her broken relationship with Ronald Lewis Ruse Jr. and planned to commit suicide after killing Ruse outside his Carlsbad apartment, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Lux.

“She just could not accept their breakup,” Lux said.

Ricchio allegedly shot at Ruse five times with a newly purchased .38-caliber revolver as he entered his apartment with a six-pack of beer and some sandwiches about 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 14.

Investigators believe that the 28-year-old Ruse, a car mechanic and sports fan, was preparing for an evening of Monday Night football when Ricchio surprised him. There were no witnesses to the shooting.

Only a few days earlier Ricchio had rented the two-bedroom apartment next to Ruse, allegedly prompting Ruse’s new girlfriend to move out in fear.

Authorities found in Ricchio’s car what they said was a suicide note and a will, addressed to a relative.

On Nov. 13, Ruse obtained a restraining order from Vista Superior Court Judge Lawrence Kapiloff ordering Ricchio to stop harassing Ruse and his new girlfriend and to not come within 100 yards of their residence or job sites.

“She continually calls me at all hours of the day and night,” Ruse wrote in his plea to the court for help. “She shows up at my apartment and demands to come in. I have told her that I no longer want to see her. Today (Oct. 28), she showed up at my place of work and verbally harassed me in front of fellow workers and my supervisor. This is the second time in a week she has appeared at my workplace. My job is now in jeopardy.”

Ricchio denied ever harassing Ruse. “My sole intent,” she wrote, “never included willful or knowingly malicious actions or conduct, but purely harmless heartfelt and deserving attempts to communicate, to help me understand. The emotional stress and turmoil has exhausted me.”

She said the two had lived together in Vista from December, 1980, to April, 1986, when they decided to split up.

On Dec. 14, Ruse was struck by two bullets and died of massive chest, back and abdomen wounds.

Less than 10 minutes after the shooting, Ricchio allegedly made a 911 emergency call to Oceanside police and told them she wanted to turn herself in for shooting someone. She was booked and later charged with murder.

Police found a .38-caliber revolver on the floor of her car.

Some involved in the case have noted a similarity between the allegations against Ricchio and the movie “Fatal Attraction,” in which a woman stalks a former lover until the two engage in a bloody confrontation.