Texas Savannah Kriger, a mother, recorded a video for her ex-husband in which she told her 3-year-old son to say goodbye to his dad before murdering him, according to Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar.
After the child said goodbye in the video, Kriger searched for cartoons online, then shot the child and herself, according to Sheriff Salazar.
Sheriff Salazar provided a detailed account of the events leading up to the deaths on March 18, describing how Savannah Kriger broke into her ex-husband’s home, damaged his personal property, and then displayed her wedding dress and photos on her own bed before shooting them.
She then took her son out of daycare and drove to a drainage ditch where she killed the child and herself, Salazar said.
Savannah Kriger and her 3-year-old son Kaiden were found dead on March 18 amid a custody case. A hearing was scheduled for that day, and Salazar said, "She could have lost custody of the child." Court records indicate that her ex-husband's name is Brian Kriger.
Here’s what you should know about the case
Savannah Kriger damaged various personal items at her ex-husband’s home, according to the Sheriff.
Both Savannah and Kaiden were found dead from gunshot wounds, the sheriff confirmed during the news conference.
The medical examiner's office ruled Savannah's death a suicide, while Kaiden's death was deemed a homicide.
"We have determined that her death was a suicide," Salazar said.
Salazar explained the timeline of events and how cell phone technology helped determine the sequence of actions.
Savannah's 2023 Lincoln Navigator left her work parking garage downtown at about 12:49 p.m., according to Salazar, and at 1:15 p.m., the vehicle reached her ex-husband's residence, covering a distance of 7.9 miles.
During this time, it is believed that Savannah entered her ex-husband’s residence and damaged personal items such as clothing, furniture, and towels, Salazar said.
Salazar stated that she was damaging personal belongings during this time.
At the same time, the husband was at his place of employment as confirmed by his GPS at 1:24 p.m., the sheriff said, and she left the residence at that time.
News4 San Antonio made a report stating that Savannah Kriger filed for divorce from Brian Kriger on March 7 and had requested a protective order against him. The deaths occurred prior to the hearing on that request.
Savannah Kriger shot her wedding dress and then told her ex-husband, 'You don't have anything to go home to now.'
Bexar County SheriffKaiden Kriger.
The sheriff stated that after leaving her ex-husband's residence, Savannah then traveled 27.2 miles to her own residence, where it is believed that shots were fired based on the indicators found.
The wedding dresses appeared to be arranged on the bed. We think she shot two times at her wedding photos placed on the bed.
There were bullet holes in the pictures, suggesting she shot at them, Salazar said. The pictures were laid out on the bed.
The shell casings in the house matched the ones at the crime scene where the bodies were discovered.
At 2:18 p.m., her car left her home. At 2:32 p.m., the car arrived at her son’s daycare. She got out of the driver’s seat and officially checked Kaiden out of the facility, Salazar said.
She put him in the back passenger seat of the car. At 2:46 p.m., her call history shows a Facetime call to her ex-husband, who used another phone to record the call while he was at work, Salazar said.
The Facetime call lasted 2 minutes and 13 seconds, according to the Sheriff, who quoted Savannah Kriger saying, “You don’t have anything to go home to now, you really don’t. You don’t have anything at the Dover’s Den house either, and you won’t have anything at the end of the day.”
Sheriff’s Officials Believe That Savannah Kriger Instructed ‘Kaiden to Say Goodbye to Daddy’
Bexar Co SheriffSavannah Kriger.
Next GPS shows her car arrived at the park, according to the sheriff, who said that a friend of hers bought the gun at a sporting goods store and then sold it to Savannah Kriger as a legal transaction. The gun was found at the scene.
First, 911 audio shows her ex-husband called police for a criminal mischief report for his home. He explained he was about to arrive in his subdivision, Salazar said.
Photos were taken on his phone of the damaged items, “which we believe at this point were caused by Savannah,” said the sheriff.
At 3:19 p.m., she tried to Facetime her ex-husband. When that didn’t work, she sent a last text message that read, “Say goodbye to your son.”
There was another unsuccessful attempt to Facetime him, so she then recorded a 21-second video in which she appeared to already be sitting with the boy in the drainage ditch where their bodies were found, according to Salazar.
“She instructs Kaiden to say goodbye to daddy, which Kaiden does. Savannah also apologizes to Kaiden for his daddy not being there and kisses Kaiden,” Salazar said.
Nothing graphic appears in that video but it seems to be pretty clear what “her intentions are at that point,” the sheriff says.
Around 3:29 p.m., she looked up YouTube videos of children’s content, cartoons, “while she and her son are in the ditch area,” the sheriff said. At 3:37 p.m., police met with the ex-husband to take the criminal mischief report.
Later after concern grew, authorities started searching for Savannah and Kaiden to no avail and park police on routine patrol found their bodies in the morning in the drainage ditch area, he said. Both were suffering from gunshot wounds, the sheriff said.
