Tragic Loss: Expectant Father Loses Life in Sudden Assault

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TJ Pizzitola was eagerly anticipating fatherhood, with just a month left before welcoming his child into the world. Tragically, the 29-year-old became a victim of a fatal attack in Scottsdale, Arizona, where police report he was unexpectedly struck from behind.

The incident occurred in Old Town Scottsdale, where Pizzitola, a resident of the Valley, was ambushed while his arms were at his sides, and he was moving away from the scene. This unexpected blow left him unconscious, and he ultimately succumbed to his injuries.

In the wake of this heartbreaking event, Scottsdale police have apprehended five individuals connected to the attack. Among them, one faces charges of second-degree murder. Meanwhile, Pizzitola’s family is left grappling with the loss of a cherished son, husband, brother, and soon-to-be father, remembering the love that surrounded him throughout his life.

Reflecting on her son’s life, Gina Pizzitola, TJ’s mother, shared, “I had him at 19. I was a baby myself, and everybody just wrapped him up with love.” The family now holds onto these memories as they mourn the loss of TJ Pizzitola.

“I had him at 19. I was a baby myself, and everybody just wrapped him up with love,” said Gina Pizzitola, TJ Pizzitola’s mom.

Gina Pizzitola recalls TJ Pizzitola’s personality and outgoing nature as a young child.

“We used to go to Walmart and he’d be in the cart and he would just say hi to everybody, and people would just wave to him. And that was just TJ,” Gina Pizzitola said.

TJ loved baseball and Italian food and making as many friends as possible, his mom said. He moved from California to Arizona for college at ASU, which is where he met the love of his life, Krisan.

“TJ was the type of man that loved so deep that you could feel it,” Krisan Pizzitola said.

They got married in July last year and were building a life together. On the morning of Oct. 11, TJ Pizzitola’s life was cut short.

‘I don’t know why they didn’t just let them walk away’

“I dropped them off that night right before 10 o’clock. And it was the playoffs of baseball. We’re a huge baseball family,” Krisan Pizzitola recalled.

TJ Pizzitola went out with two of his longtime friends in Old Town Scottsdale. Records show that just after 2 a.m., they were waiting for an Uber to pick them up. It was raining, so crowds were huddling underneath the roof of Pattie’s First Avenue Lounge near Scottsdale Road. Police say that as TJ Pizzitola’s group was walking to their pickup area, one of TJ Pizzitola’s friends bumped into a woman.

“Just let them walk away. I don’t know why they didn’t just let them walk away,” Krisan Pizzitola said.

As TJ Pizzitola and his friends kept walking, that woman and four of her male friends followed them, records show. Then, 24-year-old Drew Meneses is accused of attacking TJ Pizzitola from behind, blindsiding him and punching him in the head. It rendered TJ Pizzitola unconscious.

During Meneses’ initial appearance before a judge, a prosecutor said there was a cell phone video showing the attack.

“What you can see is [Pizzitola] standing with his arms to his side and you can see [Meneses] walk up behind him and essentially what we refer to as sucker punched him in the head. That one punch caused the victim to have brain injury so severe that he went down completely unconscious and never recovered,” said Angela Andrews with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.

Around that time, Krisan Pizzitola checked TJ Pizzitola’s location.

“It started moving, and then I saw that it was at the emergency room,” Krisan Pizzitola said.

She rushed to the hospital as she frantically called family. Gina Pizzitola was in Tucson with TJ Pizzitola’s siblings.

“It’s raining. My daughter’s driving. She’s speeding. It was just a lot. And all we knew was TJ is in the hospital, he lost consciousness, he was intubated, and it doesn’t look good,” Gina Pizzitola recalled.

TJ Pizzitola died from his injuries.

Making matters worse for his grieving family, Krisan Pizzitola is eight months pregnant with their first child.

“He wanted to be a dad more than anything. His biggest dream was to be a dad and a husband, and he had one of them,” Krisan Pizzitola said. “TJ never missed an OB-GYN appointment. He went to every single one, no matter how big, how small.”

“It makes me angry because it truly was the one thing that he wanted and he was so excited about,” Gina Pizzitola said.

The community is now rallying around TJ Pizzitola’s family as they grieve the loss of one life senselessly taken away while preparing to welcome a new one who will also be named TJ Pizzitola.

“He’s got a heck of a village that is determined to let him know who his dad was,” Krisan said.

A fundraiser has been set up to help support Krisan and their baby boy. There will also be a community event to help support the family at The 44 Sports Grill in Glendale on November 16.