SAN ANTONIO — The Bexar County sheriff says cell phone data provided the evidence in the death of a mother and son in March that was ruled a murder-suicide.
Savannah Kriger and her 3-year-old son, Kaiden Kriger, were the focus of an Amber Alert before they were found dead at Tom Slick Park on March 19. The little boy was at the center of a custody battle, Sheriff Javier Salazar said.
Salazar said it started in a southeast-side neighborhood on March 18. Just after 1 p.m., investigators say Savannah Kriger stopped by her ex-husband's house while he was at work.
"[She] damaged various items of personal clothing, furniture items," Salazar said. He says she then drove to her own home on Alamo Ranch.
"There were some wedding dresses that were laid out. We believe that she fired two shots into her wedding portraits," Salazar said.
After that, surveillance video shows Savannah picking up her son, Kaiden, from daycare at 2:30, detectives say. At 3:19 p.m., Salazar says Savannah sent one last text message to her ex, that read "Say goodbye to your son." Salazar said detectives found a 21 second recording on her phone from Tom Slick Park.
"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," Salazar said.
A handgun was found next to their bodies and the shell casings matched the ones in Savannah's home.
The CEO of Family Violence Prevention Services, Marta Prada Pelaez, says children are most often the victims of violence.
"We will never know the complete picture. We only know of the level of despair that this mother must have had," Pelaez said. "The communities attention should now go to those members of the family who are left with no real answers."
If you or someone you know needs help, call the family violence hotline at 1-800-799-7233.