A mother of two begged her children to run inside and call 911 before she was kidnapped and murdered by her on-off boyfriend.
The man was a Florida sheriff’s deputy.
The case ended in a 𝓈𝒽𝓸𝒸𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 murder-suicide.
The incident happened on a Monday evening.
The woman and her two children, ages 9 and 12, had just returned from the beach.
Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Troy Savetz, 47, was waiting for her in the front yard of her home in Hudson.
She started arguing with Savetz over a television set he wanted back.
The couple had been in a “tumultuous” on-off relationship.
As the argument escalated, she told her children to run inside the house.
She told them to call for help.
Savetz then snatched away his panicked ex-girlfriend’s phone as she tried to call for help herself.
The sheriff of a neighboring county stressed how he wanted the dead woman’s children to know how much their mother prioritized their safety.
Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco spoke at a press conference Monday night.
“We listened to that 911 tape and we know that your mother said to go inside, save your lives and call 911,” Nocco said.
“Your mom is looking down from heaven, and she is so proud of you.
You two did the right thing, you did exactly what your mom wanted you to do.”
Police rushed to the woman’s home around 5:30 p.m.
But by the time they arrived, Savetz and the woman were already gone.
They knew Savetz was armed.
He kidnapped the mother in a rental car.
Police tracked the rental car to Platinum Drive in Spring Hill, about 6 miles away from the woman’s home.
The tracking ended around 7 p.m.
Inside the car, they found both Savetz and the woman dead from gunshot wounds.
The victim’s name has not been released by authorities.
Sheriff Nocco said her two children are now in the care of their biological father.
“Those two children should be starting off this week getting ready for school,” Nocco said.
“But what they’re getting ready for instead is a sad life without their mother.”
Savetz had worked for the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office for 14 years.
He was assigned to the marine unit, according to Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri.
Gualtieri condemned Savetz’s actions Monday night.
He called what the deputy did “inexcusable.”
“The moment this individual committed a crime he was no longer a law enforcement officer,” Gualtieri said.
“He was a criminal.”
