Houston Mother Killed 4-Year-Old Daughter After Losing Custody To Girl’s Father, Police Say

A Houston mom murdered her four-year-old daughter Tuesday evening and then committed suicide shortly after a judge ruled that the child would spend most of her time with her father.

Vivian Savella was 4 years old. Her mother, 35, died in a hospital Wednesday, a Houston Police Department news release said Thursday. Initially, police had said the woman was 30 and would survive. The cases are being treated as a murder-suicide.

Authorities have not provided any other identifying information about the mother beyond her age; news reports have said she is Cibelle Savella. She was scheduled to turn Vivian over to her former husband, Aaron Savella, that evening after a custody hearing Tuesday.

“There was a custody hearing earlier today that didn’t go well for the mother, “Houston police Lt. Larry Crowson said Tuesday night. “She came home, shot her 4-year-old, and then shot herself.”

Police responded to a call around 5:45 p.m. to a townhome at Terra Reserve Place, near North Kirkwood Road in Houston’s Memorial neighborhood. The child’s stepfather and a babysitter were in the house.

“After that custody hearing, they came home. The stepfather and a babysitter were downstairs. They heard gunshots upstairs, went upstairs and found the victims there,” Crowson said.

It was said that the two broke into the girl’s third-floor bedroom. The stepfather tried to perform CPR on Vivian, but the child died at the scene. Her mother was rushed to a hospital with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

A family court judge ruled Tuesday that Vivian would live primarily with her father. The order gave Aaron Savella temporary, exclusive rights to decide where his daughter would live and make decisions regarding her medical care and schooling, according to the Houston Chronicle, citing court records.

Under the ruling, the mother could see Vivian only when she was “continuously supervised,” according to court documents obtained by KTRK. The mother, who was born in Brazil, was allowed to speak Portuguese to her daughter only when someone who speaks the language supervised her continuously. According to filings cited by the Daily Mail, she was barred from attending her daughter’s school performances and extracurricular activities. She was also ordered to pay child support and half of the girl’s medical expenses not covered by insurance.

The reasons for the court’s decision against the mother, and the justification for the restrictions, were not immediately clear.

According to the father’s attorney, an agency appointed by the court would supervise visitation, but the ruling was too new for the agency to be notified of the case. The order also did not specify how the custody exchange should take place.

The couple got divorced in November 2024 after four years of marriage, and they had been fighting for their daughter.

Charlotte Rainwater, who represented Aaron Savella, told KHOU that nothing in the courtroom indicated what would happen.

“I’ve been practicing family law for 28 years and have never experienced anything like this,” Rainwater said. “I don’t think anyone in this courtroom on Tuesday contemplated this could be the outcome.”

She said that the family was shocked by the decision.

In a statement released through their attorneys Wednesday, Vivian’s family said she “was loved without limit by her father, Aaron, and by everyone whose life she touched.”

“Aaron did everything the law asks of a parent who is trying to protect his child. He trusted the courts. He followed every order. He waited for the process to work,” the statement said. “On Tuesday, a judge placed Vivian in his primary care, and she was supposed to come home to him that evening. She never did.”

The family asked for privacy while grieving.