HUDSON, Fla. (CBS12) — What started as a dispute over a TV ended in a deadly kidnapping Monday when a Pinellas County deputy allegedly killed his ex-girlfriend and then himself.
The deputy, 47-year-old Troy Savetz had worked for the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office for 14 years and was assigned to the Marine Unit. The victim has not been identified.
The incident began around 5:35 p.m. in the Phyllis Lane area of Hudson when the woman returned home from the beach with her two children and encountered Savetz in her yard.
The two argued over property, including a television, authorities said.
The woman tried to call 911, but Savetz allegedly took her phone. She then told her children to go inside and call for help. One child stayed on the phone with dispatchers, identifying Savetz and telling them he was a Pinellas County deputy.
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Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco praised the children for their actions.
We listen to that 911 tape and we know that your mother said to go inside to save your lives and to call 911. You did exactly what your mom asked you to do.”
Deputies arrived at the home but found the woman and Savetz gone. Investigators learned Savetz had left with her in a rental car.
A search involving K-9s, drones, and aviation units was launched. A location ping led deputies to the 16800 block of Platinum Drive in Spring Hill, where they spotted the vehicle.
A drone helped deputies identify two people inside. Both Savetz and the woman were found dead from gunshot wounds, according to the Pasco Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators believe Savetz killed the woman before taking his own life. They are still working to determine when the killing occurred.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said Savetz previously worked together for the St. Louis Police Department and called the case domestic violence.
There is no reason to have a permanent solution to a temporary problem, whatever was going on between him and her.”
Gualtieri said Savetz’s actions were “inexcusable.” The children, ages 12 and 9, were not Savetz’s biological children and are now in the care of their biological father.
Nocco said the children went from spending the day at the beach to facing life without their mother.
“They literally gone from the best day of their lives probably to the worst day of their lives,” he said.
He also told the children they did exactly what their mother wanted by getting to safety and calling 911.
“So know this, your mom is looking down from heaven, and she’s so proud of you too because she did exactly what any parent would have wanted her children to do, and that’s to save their own lives and be safe,” Nocco said.
The Pasco Sheriff’s Office said the incident was isolated and there is no threat to the public. The investigation remains ongoing.