Gunman Shoots Ex-Girlfriend, Kills Self : Violence: Woman is forced from her home, screaming for help, then shot in head twice. She is clinging to life in intensive care.

A distraught gunman who may have been stalking his ex-girlfriend for at least a week forced the woman from her home Tuesday morning and, as she cowered on a front lawn, shot her in the head and then fatally turned the gun on himself while horrified neighbors watched.

Barbara Darlene Blakely, 27, a waitress in Orange and a student at Cal State Fullerton, was in extremely critical condition Tuesday night, surrounded by her family members and her roommate, who owned the house where she was shot.

A pickup truck reported abandoned at the scene by the gunman was registered to Fausto Grimaldi, 47, according to Department of Motor Vehicle records. Police would not identify the gunman before they notified the next of kin, but official sources acknowledged that the dead man was Grimaldi.

Police said the gunman, who died instantly, was also carrying more than $12,000 in cash stuffed in his socks, shoes and pockets. Authorities said they did not know what the money was for. They said his relatives apparently live in Italy, but would not speculate about whether he planned to leave the country.

“He had it stuffed everyplace,” said Santa Ana Police Lt. Bob Helton, adding that most of the bills were in $100 denominations. “That’s a lot of dinero. “

Police and witnesses said the gunman was apparently distraught over Blakely’s impending marriage when he angrily confronted the woman at her home in the 2100 block of North Pacific Avenue. The shooting took place about half an hour after the argument began, drawing neighbors of this quiet north Santa Ana neighborhood to their windows and porches.

“I feel so bad,” said Larry Wilson, who watched from his front yard as Grimaldi pulled the trigger of the .357-magnum revolver. “I just wish I could have done something to stop him.”

It was about 8 a.m. when Grimaldi drove a Nissan pickup truck to North Pacific Avenue, parked it, and walked about 50 yards to Blakely’s house, Lt. Helton said.

Several witnesses later said they recalled seeing the truck at least twice last week, cruising slowly by the house where Blakely had lived for about a month. Some neighbors also said they believe that the man was a cook, but they didn’t know where he was employed.

The two had broken off a relationship about a year ago, Helton said. It was unclear if they had seen each other since then. Helton said Blakely had been urged by her roommate--Lisa Bradford--to obtain a temporary restraining order against the man, but she never did.

After Blakely let Grimaldi into the house, the two began arguing loud enough for several neighbors to take notice. Next-door neighbor Earl Wilson, a retired newspaper editor, said he was in the bathroom when he heard incoherent shouts from the single-story home that Bradford purchased about two years ago.

“We heard the screaming,” he said Tuesday afternoon as police took down the last of the yellow tape that had been draped around Bradford’s home all morning. “She just screamed and screamed.”

At one point during the boisterous argument, Blakely apparently became so fearful that she triggered a silent alarm that was installed in the home two weeks ago, police and witnesses said.

By the time dispatchers at National Guardian Alarm Co. recorded the alarm and notified police, Grimaldi had forced Blakely out of the house, pushing her roughly with his left hand while holding a pistol in his right hand.

As Wilson dialed 911, his wife, Lora Wilson, still in her robe and slippers, ran outside, and saw Grimaldi marching Blakely across the street to a neighbor’s driveway.

Blakely tried desperately to shake Grimaldi off, screaming louder and louder until other neighbors came out of their homes.

“She screamed, ‘Help me,’ ” Earl Wilson said. “Then she just began screaming to get people’s attention.”

As Blakely screamed for help, Grimaldi kept repeating, “Move it, keep on moving,” said Larry Wilson, who lives next door to Blakely with his parents.

Blakely wrenched herself free from Grimaldi and began walking away from him. But he continued to harass her, witnesses said. The two finally stopped on a front yard and, without saying a word, Grimaldi shoved Blakely to the ground.

As she fearfully crouched in a fetal position on the front lawn of her neighbor’s house, Grimaldi lowered the powerful handgun to her head and fired point-blank at least twice. Seconds later, he crouched down, jammed the pistol barrel into his own mouth and pulled the trigger.

He collapsed backward beside Blakely, dying almost instantly.

“It looked like he was breaking a water balloon over his face,” said Anthony Gonzalez as he tried to describe the grisly scene. “That’s what it looked like to me.”

“I can’t believe this happened,” Larry Wilson said. “I was dumbfounded.”

Blakely was rushed to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where she clung to life in the hospital’s intensive care unit. Her mother and Bradford sat tearfully in the waiting room awaiting word on her condition. They declined to be interviewed.

“She’s pretty bad off,” hospital spokesperson Fran Tardiff said about Blakely.

Police were searching through the contents of the abandoned truck Tuesday night. Among items they found were a sleeping bag, a backpack and an overnight bag, Helton said.

Police said they were uncertain of the motive for the attempted murder-suicide, but forensic experts believe that the act was probably one of desperation, an attempt to ensure that he and Blakely spend eternity together.

“It’s an ego feeling,” said Dr. Bruce Danto, Fullerton-based psychiatrist who specializes in murder-suicides. “It would seem to suggest he had thought this through and wanted to end this tour on Planet Earth with a note of triumph.”