Judge orders mental health evaluation for the woman accused of
attempting to murder Rihanna
[May 20, 2026]
By ANDREW DALTON
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge on Tuesday paused the prosecution of a woman
charged with the attempted murder of Rihanna and more than a dozen other
felonies and sent the case to a mental health court that will determine
whether she is competent to stand trial.
At a Los Angeles meeting held in a judge's chambers, Deputy Public
Defender Derek Dillman said he had doubts over the mental competence of
his client, 35-year-old Ivanna Lisette Ortiz of Orlando, Florida, court
documents showed. Ortiz has pleaded not guilty to firing at the house of
Rihanna, her partner A$AP Rocky and their children while all of them
were home.
Judge Shannon K. Cooley ordered psychiatric evaluations and temporarily
transferred the case to a Hollywood mental health court that specializes
in determining whether defendants can understand the proceedings and go
through a trial.
“It is the ethical obligation of counsel and the court to ensure that
Ms. Ortiz’s rights are protected, including being able to assist counsel
in conducting a defense in a rational manner,” Dillman said in an email
to The Associated Press.
Prosecutors declined comment.
If she is found incompetent, she could be held indefinitely in a state
hospital until she is able to face the charges. She is set to appear
June 2 in the same courtroom where a judge recently found that a man
accused of stalking Jennifer Aniston was incompetent to stand trial.
At a hearing a week earlier, Cooley had declined to pause the process
for mental health evaluation, and Ortiz objected, saying she wanted the
case to proceed on the path to trial. She did not appear in court on
Tuesday. Cooley ordered that she should continue to be held on nearly $2
million bail.
Police and prosecutors allege that on March 8, Ortiz pulled up in a
Tesla to the Beverly Hills-area property of the singing superstar
Rihanna and her rapper partner A$AP Rocky, pointed an AR-15 style rifle
out the window and sprayed at least 20 bullets toward the property and a
neighboring house. No one was injured.
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Rihanna arrives at the premiere of "Smurfs" on Sunday, July 13,
2025, at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP,
File)
Shots hit an Airstream trailer that Rihanna and Rocky were inside,
according to police interviews with the couple. Investigators found
bullet holes in the trailer and on the exterior wall of the home’s
second-floor nursery, where the three kids were with their nanny.
Investigators said that after her arrest later that day, Ortiz told them
“I wasn't attempting murder,” according to a police report.
Ortiz is charged with 10 counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm,
one for each of the people on the two properties. She’s also charged
with three counts of shooting at an occupied vehicle or dwelling.
Ortiz had no prior police record, authorities said. Public records show
she had been a licensed speech pathologist for more than a decade.
Authorities have not discussed a motive or described any connection
between her and Rihanna.
A nine-time Grammy Award winner, Rihanna has 14 No. 1 hits on the
Billboard Hot 100, including “We Found Love,” “Work,” “Umbrella” and “Disturbia.”
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