Bexar County Sheriff’s Office has launched an investigation into the deaths of a San Antonio woman and her son, whose bodies were discovered shortly after an AMBER alert was issued for them.
Savannah Samantha Kriger, 32, and Kaiden Kriger, 3, were allegedly found dead in a ditch near Tom Slick Park in San Antonio on Tuesday in what authorities are investigating as a possible murder-suicide.
“We are operating on the premise that this is Savannah and the child,” said Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar during a news conference. “It appears that there’s some evidence that there may have been some gunshots fired, but again, at this point, it’s too early to give anything beyond tentative identification.”
Salazar also explained that a custody hearing had been scheduled between Kriger and Kaiden’s father the day the two victims were discovered. Records obtained by the San Antonio Express-News show that roughly a week after filing for divorce on March 7, Kriger asked for a protective order against her estranged husband on the grounds that he had allegedly sexually and physically abused her since 2020.
Yet the judge handling the custody case had ordered her to bring Kaiden to the custody hearing, citing reports from Kriger’s estranged husband that she had allegedly vandalized his home, drained their bank account, and sent him messages suggesting suicidal intent and telling him to say goodbye to his son.
Within the context of this ongoing custody dispute, family members had requested a welfare check on Kriger and Kaiden after losing contact with Kriger on March 18. That day, Kriger had left work early and picked up her son from daycare for a doctor’s appointment.
Later that evening, deputies conducted a welfare check on Kriger and gained entry to her home located in the 8200 block of Dovers Den, thanks to a relative.
“They did find some things that led us to believe there was certainly cause for concern for the child, as well as for Savannah,” Salazar explained to reporters.
An AMBER alert was issued on March 19 after the authorities managed to locate Kriger’s white 2023 Lincoln Aviator, which had been abandoned at Tom Slick Park. The bodies were spotted in a drainage ditch towards the back of the park by a park ranger that same morning.
