Florida Deputy Kills Ex-Girlfriend After She Urges Her Children to Call 911

HUDSON, Florida — A Florida mother was kidnapped and killed by her on-again, off-again boyfriend, a sheriff’s deputy, after she bravely told her two young children to run inside and call 911 during a confrontation outside their home.

The woman had just returned from the beach with her 9- and 12-year-old children when she encountered Troy Savetz, 47, a deputy with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities said an argument began between the former couple over a television Savetz wanted back.

As the confrontation escalated, the mother instructed her children to get inside the house and call police.

Mother Put Her Children First

During a press conference, Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said investigators had listened to the children’s 911 call and praised the mother for putting their safety ahead of her own.

The children followed her instructions and made the emergency call.

Savetz allegedly took the woman’s cellphone before forcing her into a rental vehicle and leaving the property. Officers arrived at the home around 5:30 p.m., but the pair had already left.

Police quickly began searching for the vehicle.

Police Find Couple Dead

Investigators eventually tracked the rental car to an area of Spring Hill, roughly six miles from the woman’s home.

When officers located the vehicle around 7 p.m., they discovered both Savetz and the woman dead from gunshot wounds.

Authorities are investigating the deaths as a murder-suicide.

The victim’s identity had not been publicly released at the time of the report.

Her two children are now in the care of their biological father.

Deputy Condemned by His Own Department

Savetz had worked for the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office for approximately 14 years and was assigned to the department’s marine unit.

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri strongly condemned the deputy’s actions, emphasizing that Savetz’s position in law enforcement did not excuse what happened.

Gualtieri said that the moment Savetz allegedly committed the crime, he was no longer acting as a law enforcement officer but as a criminal.

The case has shocked the local community, particularly because the victim’s children witnessed the beginning of the confrontation and were left without their mother.

Children Face Life Without Their Mother

Sheriff Nocco expressed sympathy for the two children, noting that they should have been preparing for the start of a new school week but instead were facing the loss of their mother.

Despite the horrific circumstances, authorities emphasized that the children did exactly what their mother told them to do: they got to safety and called for help.

Their mother’s final actions, investigators said, showed that protecting her children remained her priority even as the situation became increasingly dangerous.

The murder-suicide remains under investigation