Rhode Island man sentenced to prison for murdering ex-girlfriend Bernadette Ortiz

Attorney General Peter Neronha announced today that a Providence man has been sentenced in Providence County Superior Court to serve life in prison for the 2022 murder of his former girlfriend at an apartment in Providence.

On August 29, 2023, 37-year-old Derek Sheppard entered a guilty plea to one count of second-degree murder and one count of carrying a pistol without a license. Following his plea, Superior Court Justice Richard Raspallo sentenced Sheppard to serve life in prison and a consecutive 10-year suspended sentence with probation.

Had the case proceeded to a trial, the State was prepared to prove that on February 9, 2022, Derek Sheppard shot and killed his ex-girlfriend, Bernadette Ortiz following a domestic dispute.

“Once again, an innocent victim died at the hands of someone who chose to resolve an argument with a gun,” said Attorney General Neronha. “The defendant’s two young daughters lost both a friend in the victim, and a father, who will now spend the rest of his life in prison. I hope this just and lengthy prison sentence will bring some measure of comfort to them and the rest of the victim’s loved ones. As always, I am grateful for our continued partnership with the Providence Police Department and commend the hard work by the investigative team and prosecution team for their work on this case.”

At approximately 10:30 p.m. on February 9, 2022, Sheppard returned home to the apartment that he was staying at with the victim and his two young daughters. Shortly after his arrival, he and the victim argued, at which time she asked him to leave. The argument escalated and Sheppard shot and killed the victim.

Following the shooting, Sheppard immediately fled the apartment in his car. Using License Plate Reader technology, police tracked the defendant’s vehicle, and he was apprehended in Pooler, Georgia on the afternoon of February 11, 2022. At the time of his arrest, Sheppard told officers that there was a gun in the vehicle, and police recovered a 9mm Glock semi-automatic handgun, as well as a magazine. Further investigation revealed that the shell casings recovered at the scene of the murder were fired by the gun found in Sheppard’s vehicle.

“The men and women of the Providence Police Department work tirelessly to protect our community. Senseless acts of violence have no place in our city and the defendant in this case received the lengthy sentence that he deserves for the life he took away,” said Providence Police Colonel Oscar L. Perez, Jr. “I am proud of the work conducted by the Providence Police Department throughout this investigation and thank the prosecutors at the Office of the Attorney General for bringing the defendant to justice.”

Special Assistants Attorney General Jonathan E. Burke and Amanda Jacober and Detectives Theodore Michael (retired) and Kevin Costa (retired) of the Providence Police Department led the investigation and prosecution of this case.