Florida deputy kills ex-girlfriend and himself in dispute over TV
A Florida sheriff’s deputy kidnapped and fatally shot his ex-girlfriend, a mother of two, then killed himself, according to local officials. The confrontation began over a television.
The woman and her two children, ages 12 and 9, returned to their home in Hudson at about 5:30 p.m. Monday after spending the day at the beach. Her ex-boyfriend, 47-year-old Troy Savetz, was waiting in the yard, Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said at a briefing.
Savetz and the woman began arguing because he wanted his television and other belongings back. When she tried to call 911, the suspect took the phone from her hand.
The woman told her children to go inside and call 911. One of them spoke with a dispatcher, identified Savetz by name and said he was a deputy with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.
Pasco County deputies arrived and secured the children after clearing the home. They found the woman’s truck and phone outside, but she and Savetz were gone.
Investigators learned that Savetz had rented a vehicle, leading to a search involving multiple law enforcement agencies, K-9 teams, drones and aircraft.
A location ping led deputies to the area of Platinum Drive, where one of them spotted the rental vehicle. A drone showed two people inside, and officers approached carefully because Savetz was believed to be armed.
Savetz and the woman were found dead inside the vehicle at about 7 p.m. Officials said he had kidnapped and killed her before taking his own life.
The victim’s name has not been released. Her children are now in the custody of their biological father.
Savetz had worked for the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office for 14 years and was assigned to its Marine Unit. He previously served with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
“The moment this individual committed a crime, he was no longer a law enforcement officer,” Pinellas County Sheriff Robert Gualtieri said. “He was a criminal.”
Gualtieri said the dispute over the television was part of deeper relationship problems but was the immediate cause of the confrontation.
“For that to spark him to decide that he was going to take his gun, kidnap her, shoot her and kill her, and have her kids experience that over whatever relationship issues is just horrible,” Gualtieri said.
Sheriff Nocco praised the children for following their mother’s instructions and providing dispatchers with information while deputies were responding.
“We listened to that 911 tape, and we know that your mother told you to go inside to save your lives and call 911,” Nocco said in a message to the children. “You did exactly what your mom asked you to do.”
The post Florida deputy kills ex-girlfriend and himself in dispute over TV appeared first on BNO News.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
