A Texas woman embroiled in a custody dispute texted “say goodbye to your son” to her ex-husband before fatally shooting their 3-year-old son and herself, authorities said.
On March 19, deputies found the bodies of Savannah Samantha Kriger, 32, and her son Kaiden near a San Antonio park, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said at a news conference on May 1.
Kriger had recorded a video on her phone, Salazar said, in which she and the boy could be seen sitting in the drainage ditch where their bodies were found the next morning.
Savannah Kriger fatlly shot her 3-year-old son Kaiden before turning the gun on herself, authorities said.
“Say bye to Daddy,” Savannah Kriger tells Kaiden in the clip, which the boy does, Salazar said. Kriger tells her son she is sorry his daddy is not there with him and kisses him.
An Amber Alert was issued that evening for the pair, who were likely already dead before police launched a search , the sheriff said.
Kriger and her son each died from gunshot wounds to the head, according to the Bexar County medical examiner’s office. Kaiden Kriger’s death was ruled a homicide, and Savannah Kriger’s a suicide.
Kriger was due to attend a custody hearing the day after her death, the sheriff said.
Investigators reconstructed her actions in the final hours of her life, based on surveillance footage and cellphone and GPS data.
On March 18, Kriger left work early and vandalized her ex-husband’s home while he was at work at a car dealership. She damaged some clothes, furniture and other items, the sheriff said.
Kriger then returned to her home, where investigators believe she fired two shots at her wedding portraits and wedding dress, which were laid out on her bed in what Salazar said appeared to be a staged scene.
Police found bullet holes in the portraits and two shell casings in the bedroom, which matched those found at the drainage ditch.
Kriger was the legal owner of the gun used in the shootings, the sheriff said, which she purchased from a friend.
At around 2:30 p.m., Kriger picked up her son from day care. Fifteen minutes later, she placed a two-minute, 15-second FaceTime call to her ex-husband, who recorded the call using another phone.
“You don’t have anything to go home to now,” she says in the call. “You don’t have anything at [your house] house either.
“And you won’t have anything at all at the end of the day.”
At 3:20, she sent a final text message to her ex.
Three-year-old Kaiden Kriger was fatally shot by his mother on March 18.
“Say goodbye to your son,” she wrote.
Minutes later, Kriger recorded the 21-second video instructing her son to say goodbye to his father.
As she made that video, police were at Kriger’s ex-husband’s house, responding to a 911 call he made. Hours later, the sheriff’s office issued an Amber Alert for Kriger and Kaiden. Their bodies were found early the next morning, near the park, where Kriger had abandoned her car.
Kriger last used her phone to find children’s cartoons on YouTube, the sheriff said.
If you or someone you know needs help, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org for mental health support. Additionally, you can find local mental health and crisis resources at dontcallthepolice.com . Outside of the U.S., please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention .
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