Pinellas Deputy Kidnapped and Killed Former Girlfriend Before Taking His Own Life, Sheriffs Say

A woman with two kids asked them to call 911 minutes before she was taken in a rental car and murdered by her ex-boyfriend, who was a Pinellas County sheriff’s deputy.

Amanda “Mandy” Fackler, 39, and Deputy Troy Savetz, 47, were discovered dead in a rental car on Platinum Drive in Spring Hill on the evening of August 10th, six miles away from Fackler’s residence in Hudson. According to investigators, Savetz shot Fackler and killed himself.

Fackler’s and her daughters, who were 12 and 9 years old, returned from the beach around 5:30 pm and saw Savetz in the front yard, Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said. He said Savetz was armed and angry because of a TV he wanted back.

While Fackler attempted to make a 911 call, Savetz took the phone from her. Then, she told her kids to go inside and call for help. And they did.

The kids remained on the phone with the dispatcher, telling them what was going on in the yard and informing them about Savetz being a Pinellas County deputy, IONTB, a Tampa Bay area news website, reported covering the news conference. Nocco commended the kids for remaining calm, telling them at the news conference that they did exactly what their mother wanted them to do.

When the deputies arrived, Fackler and Savetz were missing. They found her pickup truck outside with an open door and her cell phone left at home. Investigators learned that Savetz had rented a car and began looking for it, contacting the Florida Highway Patrol and the Pinellas and Hernando County sheriff’s offices, using police dogs, drones, and aviation units.

A Pasco County deputy located the rental car in Spring Hill at around 7 pm. As Savetz was known to be armed and his condition was unknown, the drone was dispatched first. It spotted two people in the car. And both of them were dead.

Savetz had worked 14 years with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office in its marine unit and used to work for the St. Louis Police Department, Tampa Bay Times reported. Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said the agency was reviewing Savetz’s personnel and disciplinary records for release.

The two sheriffs described the couple’s relationship as tumultuous. Gualtieri called Savetz’s actions horrific and said that his badge did not mitigate the seriousness of what he did. Nocco stated that the minute Savetz committed the crime, he stopped being a law enforcement officer and became a criminal.

Fackler was a real estate agent with Century 21 Baggins and described herself as a fierce mother to her girls on the internet, WFLA reported. She used to write about her outdoor adventures with her daughters, mentioning in late July how much she enjoyed spending time with them.

Her friends described her as cheerful and generous. One of her friends said that she even raised a litter of orphaned baby skunks until they were able to survive on their own, FOX 13 Tampa Bay reported. Fackler’s daughters are now staying with their biological father.