The mother of an Ontario woman who police say was shot and killed by a man in a Brampton parking lot tells Global News she is in disbelief.
Police say the man, who was also at the centre of an Amber Alert on Tuesday, was later shot and killed by an officer early Wednesday.
Karen Kulla said her daughter, who Karen identified as 29-year-old Savannah Kulla, went to meet 38-year-old Anthony Deschepper after agreeing to allow him to spend a few hours with their 17-month-old baby girl. Karen said her daughter was a mother of four children.
During their meetup, Karen said Savannah was shot and killed.
“I just can’t believe that she’s gone,” Karen said. “She’s so, so beautiful. She stood her ground on things usually and she was smart and was pretty and we loved her.”
On Tuesday, at around 2 p.m., Peel Regional Police responded to reports of a woman shot in the parking lot of a shopping plaza in the area of Airport Road and Queen Street East in Brampton. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
Karen said her daughter and Deschepper were previously in a relationship but had broken up a few months ago.
“She did say to me, about a month ago, ‘if I stay with him he’s gonna end up killing me,’” Karen said.
Karen said she suggested her daughter get a restraining order. “She said to me ‘it’s not going to do anything, mom. He just wont leave me alone.’”
She recounted when police came to her door on Tuesday to tell her the news of her daughter’s death.
“The officer said, ‘she’s deceased.’ I mean I don’t even know what I did. I probably screamed. I can’t even remember. She’s the youngest of my three. I love her so much. I can’t just can’t even imagine life without her.”
Karen alleges police told her the fatal shooting followed a dispute over a diaper bag.
“From what I’ve heard he said to her, ‘I need the diaper bag.’ She said ‘I’m going to get it.’ He said ‘you forgot the damn diaper bag’ and then all I heard is there was then three shots,” Karen alleges.
Global News interviews the mother of a woman shot dead by a man linked to an Amber Alert on Tuesday.
Global News
A couple hours later, an Amber Alert was issued across Ontario just before 5 p.m. Tuesday involving a one-year-old girl. It named Deschepper as the suspect.
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Police told reporters the girl had been seen in the back seat of the vehicle being driven by Deschepper, but was dropped off with family members. The Amber Alert ended and police said she was “safe and sound.”
They also said it’s believed to be a case of intimate partner violence but would not elaborate further.
Another alert was put out, this time by Niagara regional police, at 6:52 p.m. Tuesday, for residents in the Crystal Beach area to shelter in place as it was believed Deschepper was in the area. That alert was lifted shortly after when police said evidence suggested he had left that area.
During the early hours on Wednesday, Niagara police said officers found a vehicle at a gas station near Thorold Stone and Montrose roads in Niagara Falls with Deschepper inside. Following “an interaction with officers” he was shot and killed by police. No officers were injured.
The province’s Special Investigations Unit invoked its mandate and is now investigating that fatal shooting involving Niagara police. The SIU is an independent agency that investigates the conduct of officers when a person is killed.
Images from the scene in Niagara Falls show what appears to be a different make and model vehicle than from the Nissan reported at the time of the Amber Alert. SIU spokesperson Kristy Denette said she couldn’t confirm if there was a switch between vehicles. She said there was also a woman inside the vehicle at the time of the shooting involving Niagara police and it’s believed the woman was in the driver’s side of the vehicle.
“There was a female that was in the vehicle, and we were attempting to speak with her, but we haven’t spoken with her yet,” Denette said. She was not injured and there were no children inside the vehicle.
SIU investigators are collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses as well as collecting surveillance video to “paint a picture of what happened,” she said. She also noted Peel Regional Police and Niagara police are conducting parallel investigations into the multi-jurisdictional incidents.
Global News has also learned that Deschepper was wanted in 2023 for firearm-related offences after being accused of discharging a gun at a Brampton residence.
A warrant was put out for his arrest and he was arrested a few weeks later by Waterloo regional police. Those charges were still before the courts with a trial date set for 2026. He was out on bail awaiting this trial.
Karen said she asked Savannah if Deschepper had a gun.
“I said to her, ‘you promise me he doesn’t have a gun. No, Mom, I swear to you he doesn’t carry a gun, he doesn’t have a gun anymore.’ You know, that was bull.”
“He drove her crazy actually on the phone. She changed her number and they got it again and he just literally I’d say 50, 60, 70 times a day he was bugging her phone. And sometimes she would talk to him, but she would say ‘stay away from me, leave me alone.’”
Image of the scene in Niagara Falls, Ont.
Don Curran / Global News
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