Left inset: Daniel Rombach (Maricopa County Sheriff's Office). Right inset: Danielle Little (GoFundMe). Background: The Arizona apartment complex where Daniel Rombach allegedly shot and killed Danielle Little, a mom of seven who owed him $100 (AZ Family/YouTube).
What began as a minor fender bender and argument over $100 ended with an Arizona mother of seven being shot dead in front of her children, according to police.
"Do it p—y," said Danielle Little, 35, after her neighbor Daniel Rombach Jr., 21, confronted her with a pistol over a $100 debt she allegedly promised to pay him after "she accidentally backed up into his car," according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime and Little's sister, who spoke to the local media outlet AZ Family.
"You won't do it p—y in front of my kids," Little allegedly told Rombach.
The man, who lives in the same apartment complex as Little, was holding a pistol in his right hand and blasted Little at point-blank range, causing her to collapse to the ground, the affidavit says. He later told police that it was "not his intention" to actually shoot Little "as he forgot the gun did not have a safety device," per the affidavit.
"Daniel expressed remorse for shooting her," the document says.
Little's husband told investigators that Rombach had confronted Little that day after her son "broke" a lawn ornament outside of an apartment unit that was near Rombach's unit. Rombach allegedly heard the son apologizing and stepped outside to ask Little where the $100 was that she owed him.
"[Rombach] confronted the victim about $100 she agreed to pay them for a minor collision that occurred a month earlier," the affidavit says. Little's husband was with her at the time of the confrontation and their children inside their apartment hearing everything.
"During the argument, [Little's husband] observed Daniel produce a handgun from his waistband," the affidavit recounts, noting how the husband backed up "as he knew his children were behind him," per police.
"[The husband] heard the victim say to Daniel, 'You f—ing p—y, you're bringing out a gun, and you're not gonna shoot me in front of my kids,'" according to the court document. "Daniel pointed the gun at the victim and fired one round. … and Daniel walked back to his apartment."
Little's husband allegedly put his kids back in his apartment and then attempted to kick Rombach's door in, but was unsuccessful. "Moments later, officers arrived on scene," the affidavit says.
Little's husband told police he heard her saying "next time, be a man and say it to my face, don't write a note" regarding him wanting the $100 she said she'd pay for the fender bender.
Little's sister told AZ Family that there were "no scratches or anything" on Rombach's car but Little still promised to pay him. However, she needed some extra time because she was low on money after paying her rent.
"She's like, 'I'll pay you 100 bucks. Don't call the cops,'" the sister, Hailey Byer, recalled.
"She didn't have a lot of money but she was gonna pay it back in two weeks," Byer said. "She didn't have the money to pay that $100. She had to pay rent."
Describing the confrontation, Byer told AZ Family, "Punch her, slap her. Don't shoot her. She has seven kids."
Rombach was arrested and booked into the Maricopa County Jail. He faces one count of second-degree murder and is being held on a $1 million cash-only bond.