A Florida mother was abducted in front of her two daughters and fatally shot by her ex-boyfriend, a sheriff’s deputy, before he died by suicide, authorities said.
The violence unfolded Monday evening in Hudson, north of Tampa, after the woman returned home from a day at the beach with her daughters, ages nine and 12, according to police.
Waiting outside was her former boyfriend, 47-year-old Pinellas County Sheriff’s Deputy Troy Savetz, with whom she had been in an on-again, off-again relationship, according to posts on her social media.
Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said at a Monday press conference that Savetz began arguing with the woman over retrieving some of his belongings, including a television. The confrontation escalated, and investigators say he kidnapped her in front of her children, drove her to another residence, shot her, and then turned the gun on himself.
Authorities have not publicly released the mother’s name, but grieving friends and relatives identified her on social media as Mandy Fackler, a 39-year-old real estate agent and mother of two.
Just weeks earlier, on March 24, Fackler shared selfies with Savetz showing the pair holding matching mugs. In the post, she reflected on choosing to give the deputy another chance.
“Instead of growing through pain and moving on from each other, maybe we’re meant to grow with each other this time. Not battling one another – but standing side by side through it,” she wrote.
She added that the decision made her “feel safe. Held. Cared for. Not perfectly, but real.”
Florida mom Mandy Fackler, 39, was kidnapped in front of her daughters by her sheriff deputy ex-boyfriend on Monday before he shot her, then turned the gun on himself, police said
Fackler had posted this selfie with her ex, Pinellas County Deputy Troy Savetz, 47, in March and said she was going to give him another chance
Fackler had a nine-year-old and 12-year-old daughter. She had returned home with the children after a beach day when Savetz kidnapped her, police said
‘My babies wake up telling me how happy they are. Was well worth fighting my own dragon to figure this out and give them the harmony of a family unit I’d always wanted to be able to,’ the mother concluded her post.
But by the time Savetz showed up to Fackler’s house on Monday, about five months after the post, it appeared that their relationship had broken down again.
The awful sequence of events that led to the mother’s death was detailed by Sheriff Nocco during Monday night’s press conference.
The sheriff said that after the argument escalated, Fackler had attempted to call 911, but Savetz snatched the phone from her hand.
The mother told her daughters to go inside and call police, which they did. One of the girls spoke with the dispatcher at around 5.30pm, explaining what was happening and that Savetz was a Pinellas County deputy.
‘The child was absolutely, extremely brave in what she did and what she said,’ Nocco told reporters.
Pasco County deputies arrived and ‘cleared the house’ where the two girls were waiting, the sheriff said, but Fackler and Savetz were nowhere to be found.
The mother’s truck was still in the driveway with the door open and her phone still inside.
Savetz worked at the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office for 14 years. His relationship with Fackler appears to have deteriorated again before the alleged murder-suicide
Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco detailed the horrific sequence of events that led to the kidnapping and murder-suicide
Fackler told her children to go inside and call 911 before Savetz kidnapped her, police said
The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office soon learned that Savetz had gone to his ex-girlfriend’s house in a rented car. The department notified several surrounding sheriff’s offices, including Pinellas County, as well as Florida Highway Patrol.
A large search ensued comprised of K-9 units, drones and ‘aviation units,’ Nocco said.
The search party received a ping from Savetz’s phone at a house about six miles away from Fackler’s residence, which they went to investigate.
A deputy spotted the rental car, and police flew a drone to look inside the vehicle at around 7pm. They found the bodies of Savetz and Fackler inside.
Nocco said that before the grisly discovery, a witness had seen Savetz driving down the street and had exchanged a thumbs up with the deputy.
The sheriff said that Savetz had taken his own life shortly after that exchange, but ‘we’re not sure when, at what point, the suspect killed the victim.’
Fackler’s daughters have been released to the care of their biological father.
During the press conference, Nocco took the opportunity to discuss ‘the scourge of domestic violence,’ and said: ‘The victim left behind two children… those two children, they should be starting off the week getting ready for school.’
Sheriff Nocco said Fackler’s daughters are ‘starting off this week getting ready for a sad life without their mother’
The sheriff also shared a message with the children and said: ‘Your mom is looking down from Heaven, and she’s so proud of you two’
‘But what they’re doing is starting off this week getting ready for a sad life without their mother,’ he continued. ‘And I have a message for those two children.’
‘We listened 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,’ Nocco continued.
‘So know this, your mom is looking down from Heaven, and she’s so proud of you two 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.’
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri also spoke at the press conference and said that Savetz had worked at the department for 14 years, most recently assigned to the marine unit.
Gualtieri called his former deputy’s actions ‘inexplicable,’ adding: ‘There is no reason to have a permanent solution to a temporary problem.’
He claimed that Savetz had ‘obviously’ been suffering from ‘some mental health issues.’
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri called his former deputy’s crime ‘inexplicable’ and said Savetz clearly suffered from ‘mental health issues’
‘It’s just a very, very horrific, to say the least, situation,’ the sheriff added. ‘Mental health issues are a problem, but you don’t kill somebody and take your own life. It’s inexcusable.’
If you or someone you know needs help, please call or text the confidential 24/7 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US on 988. There is also an online chat available at 988lifeline.org.
