Security cameras tell another story: Alabama wife found dead with self-inflicted gunshot wound to head

Police examine the scene

Police were active at a Huntsville strip mall on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022. When investigators arrived, Savannah Tolbert was sitting in the passenger seat of a Tesla, her head tilted to the left, with a gun in her right hand across her lap.

Investigator Greg Hayden said the gun’s position and the wound did not fit a suicide. First responders had reported a gunshot wound to the back of Savannah’s head, near the left side. Authorities also found a shell casing on the rear seat, behind the driver, and seized the Tesla for testing.

Cameras track the couple

Savannah drove her blue Kia Sorento to the store shortly before 2 p.m. Security footage showed her arriving with a short hairstyle and David, wearing a black baseball cap and hoodie, greeting her with a hug. They left together soon afterward.

The video showed them talking outside, though the audio could not be heard. David later returned to the store alone. Investigators believe Savannah then crossed the parking lot toward the Tesla; they said it was the last time she was seen alive.

Investigators question David

David, 47, was a retired corrections officer who had been helping the store’s owners prepare for a health inspection. He had not been arrested, but police considered him a person of interest and took him to the station, where investigators questioned him after reading him his rights.

A marriage under strain

Investigators learned that David and Savannah had been married for almost two years but had lived apart for several months. David told investigators that Savannah had been dealing with mental health issues.

Savannah’s sisters, Holly and April Hancock, questioned the apparent suicide. Investigators also began speaking with the couple’s friends and learned about a woman named Chelsea Finch.