Savannah Kriger: Woman made son, 3, say 'goodbye daddy' on video before killing him in murder-suicide
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SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: A mother shot herself and her young son in the head after making him "say goodbye to daddy" on camera and making fun of her ex-husband.
After leaving work early to pick up her son Kaiden, 3, from daycare for a doctor's appointment, Savannah Kriger, 32, and her son were reported missing on Monday, March 18.
They were found dead from gunshot wounds early on Tuesday, March 19, morning, 19 hours after they were discovered in a drainage ditch in Tom Slick Park in San Antonio, Texas.
Savannah Kriger promised her ex-husband that he would never see him again
Savannah Kriger had a custody hearing the same day and was scheduled to see her ex-husband, Brian Kriger.
Kriger went on a shooting rampage, destroyed two houses, kidnapped her son, and boasted to Brian over the phone that he would never see him again. Investigators pieced together Kriger's last hours.
Kriger drove her white 2023 Lincoln Aviator to her 7.9-mile home, where Brian worked, at 12:49 p.m. and demolished it. At 1:14 p.m., having driven 27.2 miles home, she shot holes in her wedding gown and the two wedding portraits she had on her bed.
When she finally arrived at Kaiden's daycare at 2:32 pm, she only stayed for ten minutes to observe him, Daily Mail.
Four minutes later, while Brian was still at work, she sent him a worrisome FaceTime message that lasted two minutes and thirteen seconds.
"You don't have anything to go home to now, you really don't. You don't have anything at Dover's Den house either, and you won't have anything at all at the end of the day," she said.
Kriger was driving her last car when Brian hurried home and dialed 911 to report a criminal mischief complaint at his house after finding it trashed.
Kriger tried to call Brian again at 3:19 p.m., but he didn't pick up while he was snapping pictures of the damage she had done to his house. In her farewell text, she wrote, "Say goodbye to your son."
After an unsuccessful attempt to FaceTime him two minutes later, she decided to record a 21-second video of her and Kaiden's final moments instead.
"She and Kaiden appear to already be seated in the drainage ditch where their bodies would eventually be found. Savannah instructs Kaiden to say bye to Daddy," The Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said.
Investigators believed footage captured their final moments together
Unaware that it would be Kaiden's last goodbye to Brian on camera, Kriger gave him a kiss and expressed regret for his father's absence. Kriger looked up kid's cartoons on her phone at 3:29 p.m. as her final task.
Although there was no graphic footage on the phone, investigators thought the footage captured the couple's final moments together.
The family became anxious as the hours passed and they were unable to get in touch with Kriger. Her phone was turned off from location services, and all calls went to voicemail.
Monday night's search of the park had to be put on hold as night fell. Police searched the area again on Tuesday morning and discovered two bodies close to a drainage easement.
Additionally, a gun was found at the scene. According to Salazar, Kriger and Kaiden seemed to have abandoned the SUV and walk a "considerable way" to get to the ditch where the bodies were found in the park.
