A young mom of four was shot and killed by her “obsessed” ex-boyfriend, who abducted her and their baby daughter before he himself was gunned down by police, according to authorities.
Savannah Kulla, 29, was found dead in the parking lot of a shopping center in Brampton, Ontario Tuesday afternoon, police said.
Her ex, 39-year-old Anthony Deschepper, allegedly dumped her body there and fled the grisly scene he sparked after kidnapping Kulla and their 1-year-old daughter, according to cops.
Police quickly issued an Amber Alert for the tot, who was found safe with family members in Niagara Falls. The family members told police that Deschepper dropped the girl off with them, and a manhunt ensued from there.
Eventually, officers with Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit tracked down Deschepper to a gas station in Niagara Falls around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to a department press release.
An officer then shot and killed Deschepper after an “interaction” went awry, police said.
Officers found a firearm at the scene, but investigators found no evidence that Deschepper ever opened fire, according to the press release.
An unidentified woman who was allegedly driving Deschepper around at the time of the “interaction” was also arrested, local outlet CTV News reported, though their exact relationship is unclear.
Kulla’s grieving mother, Karen, told local outlet CityNews that Deschepper went “crazy” in recent weeks while Kulla, who has three sons from a separate relationship, was trying to leave him.
“[He was] so in love with her, that’s what blows my mind. Like crazy in love with her…to the point where he’s obsessed. She’s been telling me lately, I got to get away from him,” Karen said.
“She would go see him and say ‘this is over’ and that’s what she did on the weekend.”
Kulla’s three sons, who are just 6, 5, and 4 years old, are currently being cared for by their father, Karen told the outlet.
One of Kulla’s childhood friends set up a GoFundMe in hopes of securing funds for all four children’s futures, including “creating a safe, loving environment that honors the kind of future Savannah wanted for them.”
“She loved her babies with all her heart and spent every moment she could with them. Her world revolved around her children. Her face lit up whenever she talked about them, she was so proud of each of them,” the friend wrote.
A post-mortem examination for Deschepper is scheduled for Thursday.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1.800.799.SAFE (7233) or text START to 88788.
