More details are emerging about the man who allegedly killed Savannah Kulla, a 29-year-old mother of four from Brampton.
“Anthony Deschepper, was previously in a relationship with Savannah. They had been separated for several months and shared a one-year-old daughter, who was present at the time of the incident,” Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown said during a Thursday afternoon news conference on bail reform and the recent tragedy.
Deschepper, who was 38, died following a police-involved shooting in Niagara Falls on Oct. 22. He was also facing firearms-related charges from September 2023, “involving Savannah Kulla as the victim,” Brown said.
Court documents obtained by CTV News Toronto confirm that two years ago Deschepper ”did discharge a firearm while being reckless as to the life of Savannah Rose Kulla Davies.”
He also had other firearms prohibitions dating back to 2006 and 2019, they indicated.
Handwritten notes on those court documents also read: “10 months-old – serious charges – need to get moving.
Deschepper had, in fact, evaded police for a month after allegedly firing a gun in Kulla’s home before being arrested by Waterloo police.
And yet, he was out on bail a short time later and his trial for those charges wasn’t scheduled to take place until next year.
Releasing repeat violent offenders on bail ‘absolute negligence," Brown says
“There are numerous reasons that the killer should have been in custody — it’s just if one of them was adhered to, Savannah would be alive today,” Brampton’s mayor said.
“When someone has a documented history of violence, firearm offences, and intimate partner abuse, releasing them on bail is not justice, it’s absolute negligence,” Brown said.
During that news conference, Supt. David Kennedy of Peel Regional Police said investigators came to learn that the suspect had a “significant violent history.”
“And yes, it was more than two years since the event in 2023, which he was last charged with firearms charges. Clearly his release posed a significant risk to Savannah and potentially others in our community,” the superintendent said.
On Wednesday, Kulla’s mother, Karen, told CTV News Toronto Deschepper was “obsessed” with her daughter, alleging that he’d been stalking and harassing her.
“She was in love with him. It was love at first sight, apparently. He was great for the first while and while she was pregnant and then afterwards, he just got worse and worse and worse,” she said, alleging that he’d been stalking and harassing her youngest child.
“He was just phoning her 50, 60, 70 times a day, you know? He had cameras installed and we didn’t know. … He installed them to keep an eye on her."
Karen said her daughter tried to get away from the accused.
“She’d go see him and say, ‘Oh, this is over,’ and that’s what she did on the weekend. … I guess he didn’t want to take that very well and this is the result of that,” she said.
New bill met with cautious optimism
And while Brampton’s mayor and police say they believe the federal government’s proposed bill on bail and sentencing reform is a “step in the right direction,” their optimism is cautious.
“I hope that this legislation is passed swiftly, that there are no delays or procedural gains. This legislation needs to be passed not just today but frankly yesterday,” Brown said.
Kennedy agreed.
“It’s going to take some time for us to understand whether they are going to have the impact that we all hope it will, and that will actually help those who represent the most vulnerable in our community,” he said.
A crowdfunding campaign has since been created to raise funds to support and ensure a good future for Kulla’s four children.
