Amanda Pitts is a reporter for NBC Connecticut and can be seen on the weekday early evening newscasts. She joined the team in the fall of 2023.
A native of southern New England, Amanda was born in Taunton, Massachusetts, but grew up in the East Bay of Rhode Island. She has a passion for breaking news and sharing people’s stories.
She started her career in news in 2016 as an assignment desk editor for ABC6 in Providence and began on-air reporting in 2017 at Fox 40 in Binghamton, New York. In 2018, Amanda moved back to Rhode Island and worked as a reporter at ABC6 for three years and at WPRI 12 for the last two years.
During her five years in Providence, Amanda covered some of the biggest stories in the state, including the riot in downtown Providence, the Nathan Carman insurance trial, blizzards, hurricanes and tornadoes, and every aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic – from the initial lockdown to vaccine rollouts. Amanda also shed light on the issue of sexual assault in the military with an investigation into an alleged sexual assault within the Rhode Island National Guard which was a part of a station-wide Edward R. Murrow award for overall excellence.
In her spare time, Amanda likes to travel and try new restaurants, spend time with friends, family, and her cat Opie, and sing in her a cappella chorus.
The Latest
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Ellington man's conviction over wife's murder appealed to CT Supreme Court
A high-profile murder case from 2015 was appealed to the Connecticut Supreme Court on Wednesday. The appeal was heard by six justices and a room full of UConn law students as part of the court’s traveling “On Circuit” program. Richard Dabate’s defense team argued that his client didn’t get a fair trial in 2022 when he was found guilty...
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Sharkevich family remembers fallen firefighter as a ‘true hero'
The family of Robert “Sharky” Sharkevich Sr. said they’ll remember the 66-year-old as a hero who touched countless lives and was meant to be a firefighter. “He truly was a hero,” Karen Letizio, Sharkevich’s sister, said. “I hear from so many of the firefighters about what a mentor he was to them. Just a true hero. Someone that the...
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Torrington creates task force to combat rat problem
The City of Torrington is dealing with an influx of unwanted guests – rats – that have terrorized some neighborhoods in recent months. “They’re like the size of a baked potato — a big baked potato,” said Samantha Wilson. Wilson lives on Jardon Street in Torrington, an area with multiple complaints about rats. She said she’s caught 26 rats already,…
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Four decades before Salem, there were witch trials in Connecticut
It’s one of the oldest documented parts of our state’s history, and also one of the darkest. The Connecticut Witch Trials occurred from 1647 to 1663, more than four decades before the trials in Salem, Massachusetts. “The witch trials in Connecticut were extremely deadly. The first seven people who were accused and then indicted were convicted and subsequently hanged. Seven…
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Bloomfield woman killed in I-91 crash in Rocky Hill was pregnant with second child: family
The mother of a Bloomfield woman killed in a crash on I-91 last week by an alleged impaired driver is calling on police to charge the accused with a more serious punishment. Jada Upshaw, 26, a soon-to-be mother of two was killed in a three-car crash on Friday, October 4, just before 9 p.m. Her mother, Kimberly Upshaw, tells NBC…
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CT natives in Florida made it through Milton with minor damage to homes
The cleanup is just beginning for those impacted by Hurricane Milton, and we checked in Thursday with Connecticut natives who now live in Florida. Some chose to ride out the storm inside their homes, others evacuated earlier in the week. “This one was definitely no joke,” said Kristin Guillemette, of Winter Garden. “There were some wind gusts up over 100…
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Stepfather charged in fatal Meriden go-kart crash says he's not at fault
The stepfather of a young boy who died after crashing his go-kart at a Meriden park in April is now facing charges in connection to his death. Steven Stolfi, 30, was charged with two counts of risk of injury to a child this week, six months after the tragic crash. It was early April when Stolfi and his stepchildren, 6-year-old…
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Jewish community in Greater Hartford gathers to honor lives lost on Oct. 7
Monday marked one year since the terror attack against Israel and the start of Israel’s war with Hamas. Across the state of Connecticut, memorials and remembrance ceremonies were held to honor the victims. In West Hartford, the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford held a remembrance event at Beth El Temple. The event was sold out and the federation said...
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Man charged with beating woman, children in Bridgeport accused of assaulting court marshals
The man accused of brutally beating a family member and her two young children with a baseball bat in Bridgeport last week appeared in court for the third time in less than a week on new charges. Abdulrahim Sulaiman, 38, of Bridgeport, is facing new charges, including assault of a public safety official and disorderly conduct after allegedly spitting on…
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FBI alerts Norwich police to shooting threat during high school football game
A minor has been arrested for allegedly making a shooting threat from the stands of the Norwich Free Academy football game on Friday night. Norwich police said they were alerted by the FBI around 8:50 p.m. The agent told police that they discovered a Snapchat photo from a spectator in the stands with an active threat to commit a shooting….
