MOM ALLEGEDLY SHOT HER 4-YEAR-OLD AFTER LOSING CUSTODY
A Houston mother allegedly shot her 4-year-old daughter, Vivian Savella, to death and then shot herself on September 29, 2026, just hours after a family court judge granted custody of the girl to her father, according to police and sources close to the family. The mother died at a hospital the next day, the Houston Police Department said.
Officers were called to the 300 block of Terra Reserve in west Houston at about 5:45 p.m. for a report of a shooting on the third floor of a home. Click2Houston put the address at 322 Terra Reserve Place.
People inside the house told police they heard gunshots and forced their way into Vivian’s bedroom. Officers who arrived found the little girl dead from an apparent gunshot wound, ABC13 reported.
Police said Vivian’s mother had shot herself in the face. She was detained and taken to a hospital.
The custody ruling that came first
Sources close to the family told ABC13 that a family court judge had just granted custody of Vivian to her father. The girl was supposed to be handed over to him that night.
The father’s attorney said the court did not specify exactly how the custody exchange had to happen. Click2Houston reported that the family confirmed a judge had placed Vivian in her father’s primary care.
Vivian’s father was the one who identified her to the media. He told ABC13 in an earlier interview that the family was devastated.
In a statement reported by Law&Crime, the family said: “There are no words for what has been taken from us.” Click2Houston reported that the family described Vivian as “loved without limit.”
Mother’s death and the investigation
On Thursday, October 1, 2026, HPD announced that Vivian’s mother had been pronounced dead the day before, on September 30. Law&Crime had earlier reported that police expected her to survive, and later reported that she died.
Police did not report an arrest or any criminal charge in the case. Infobae reported that she died without having been formally charged. It also reported that HPD’s homicide division was investigating the case as an apparent homicide-suicide and that the case remained open.
Vivian was 4 years old.
