SAN ANTONIO — Two bodies found near a west-side San Antonio park Tuesday were confirmed by authorities to be a missing 3-year-old boy and woman who disappearances sparked an AMBER Alert.
The Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office said on March 22 that Kaiden Kriger and his mother, 32-year-old Savannah Kriger, both died from gunshot wounds to the head. Kaiden's death was determined a homicide, and the mom's death has been ruled a suicide, according to the Medical Examiner.
Law enforcement had previously said they were investigating the incident as a possible murder-suicide after a gun was recovered at the scene at Tom Slick Park.
What we know
Kaiden and Savannah went missing hours before a custody hearing was set to take place Tuesday afternoon, according to authorities who believe there was an ongoing custody battle between the child's mother and father.
Savannah reportedly went to pick up Kaiden from daycare Monday before they disappeared; Bexar County sheriff's deputies went to her home for a welfare check where they said concerning evidence was found leading them to believe the two were in danger. Savannah's car was later found abandoned at the same park where their bodies were found.
Authorities are now working to determine what happened between the Krigers going missing and their bodies being discovered.
'Kaiden was her life'
A public vigil for the Krigers was held Friday evening at Tom Slick Park, with another scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Sunday. There, with dozens of people coming together to pray, Savannah's mother said the young mother took pride in her work, as well as her son.
"Kaiden was her life," she said. "It's unusual to see a mother and son going in the middle of the night into the woods. That's not Savannah."
Loved ones are asking for anyone who may have seen something at Tom Slick Park on Monday to contact detectives. Savannah's mother had another plea:
"Please don't slander my daughter, because she is not here to defend herself."
'I knew something was wrong'
“She was never one to ignore a call, to miss a call,” said Jamie Johnson, Savannah's stepsister, who last spoke with her on Sunday. “So the second she didn’t answer my second phone call, I knew something was wrong.”
The family’s frantic search for Savannah and Kaiden started Monday night, which is when Johnson says she called police and asked them to conduct the welfare check.
“One of the terrible things is (my family) drove by Tom Slick Park at about 1 a.m. hoping to find her car because we knew that’s where her phone had last pinged,” Johnson said through tears. “I’m glad they didn’t find anything because that’s not the way we want to remember them.”
"We talked about things that were going to be planned months in advance like summer parties with Kaiden," Johnson continued, calling her stepsister headstrong and goal-oriented. "She was going through a separation with her husband, who we harbor no ill will towards at all, but she was saying, ‘I really don’t want (Kaiden) to feel the brunt of this. So, I really need you to lock in and just love him.’”
A growing makeshift memorial for the Krigers could be seen at Tom Slick Park this week, where flowers were laid at the base of a pole and one bouquet carried the message: "RIP Kaiden, heavenly angel."
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