Police say a March 23 argument between neighbors turned deadly at a north Phoenix apartment complex.
PHOENIX, Ariz. — A 35-year-old mother of seven died after police said her neighbor shot her during a morning argument at a north Phoenix apartment complex, and a 21-year-old man was later jailed on a murder charge.
The shooting happened around 8:05 a.m. March 23 near 11th Avenue and Mountain View Road, north of Dunlap Avenue. Police identified the woman as Danielle Jean Kassandra Little and the suspect as Daniel Rombach Jr. Family members said the confrontation grew out of a minor crash from about a month earlier and an argument over $100. The case quickly drew attention because children were nearby when the gunfire started and because Little had seven children, including a newborn still in intensive care.
Police said officers arrived after reports of a shooting and found Little with a gunshot wound. She was taken to a hospital in critical condition but died after arriving there. Investigators said Little and Rombach were neighbors and had been arguing before the shooting. Sgt. Lorraine Fernandez said preliminary information showed the dispute was verbal before Rombach shot Little. Family members gave a fuller picture of the events that led up to it. They said Little had accidentally backed into Rombach’s car in a minor collision and had agreed to pay $100 rather than involve police. Her son, Jayden Daniels, said the crash had been an accident. By the family’s account, Rombach and a woman from his apartment confronted Little and her husband Monday morning about the money, and the dispute escalated within minutes.
The family said the shooting unfolded in front of children. Daniels said he watched the scene and has replayed it in his head since then. Little’s sister, Hailey Byer, said the killing shattered the family and left relatives struggling to process how quickly a money dispute turned fatal. Arizona’s Family reported that court records say a neighbor recorded the encounter and that one of Little’s children was standing nearby when she was shot. The same report said records show Rombach told police he did not mean to kill Little. Investigators have not publicly released a full step-by-step account of the argument, and police have said the circumstances that pushed the confrontation from words to gunfire remain under investigation.
Little’s death quickly became a story about more than the shooting itself. Relatives described her as a mother who had fought through hard years and had rebuilt her life around her children. Byer said her sister had gone through addiction in the past but got sober and stayed focused on her family. Her husband, Kyle Daniels, said she would be forever loved and remembered. Family members also said one of Little’s babies was born at 27 weeks and remains in the NICU, adding another layer of strain as relatives sort out funeral plans and care for the children. That detail deepened public reaction in Phoenix, where the case has been framed not only as a homicide investigation but as the sudden collapse of a family already under pressure.
Rombach was detained after the shooting and booked into jail. Police initially said he was accused of murder, and later reports said he was facing a second-degree murder charge. Arizona’s Family reported he was being held on a $1 million cash-only bond. FOX 10 reported his next court date was set for March 30. Authorities have not announced any additional charges, and police have not said whether anyone else at the scene could face criminal allegations. The investigation remains active, which means detectives could still add witness interviews, video review and forensic evidence to the case file before prosecutors decide whether to refine the charges or move ahead on the current count.
At the apartment complex, the facts of the case have been paired with the kind of close-range grief that often follows neighborhood violence. Family members have spoken about seeing blood on the ground and about the shock of losing someone over what they described as a small debt. Byer, speaking through tears, said the family wants justice. Daniels said his mother was a wonderful person and that he misses her deeply. Those comments have helped define the public image of Little as both a homicide victim and the center of a large family now left to mourn in full view of the community. For neighbors, the case also raised a hard question about how a dispute over a minor accident ended with a killing in broad daylight.
As of Wednesday, Rombach remained in custody and Phoenix police said the investigation was still open. The next public milestone in the case is his scheduled March 30 court appearance.
Author note: Last updated March 25, 2026.