Kriti Mehrotra
While there’s no denying a crisis of violence against Indigenous women has unfortunately persisted for decades, no one could’ve ever imagined the fate Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind suffered. That’s because, as carefully chronicled in ABC’s/Hulu’s ‘Me, Hereafter: First She Stole My Baby,’ this young woman was forced to face her worst fears in more ways than one in the blink of an eye.
Savanna Greywind Disappeared Following a Neighbor Visit
If there’s only one way we can describe Savannah, it would have to be as an ambitious, bright light excited to start her future alongside her boyfriend of seven years, Ashton Matheny. She’d been living with her family in the basement of a Fargo, North Dakota, apartment building but was working as an assistant nurse at an elder care center with plans of returning to school to evolve into a registered nurse. She truly wanted to move ahead in life and thus even had plans to move in with her boyfriend as soon as their baby girl was born — she was 8 months pregnant on August 19, 2017.
Therefore, even though Savanna thought it a little strange when her upstairs neighbor Brooke Crews invited her over to help in a sewing project she’d undertaken, she went. Little did she or any of her loved ones know she’d never return home — her parents did knck on Brooks door a short while later itself, but the resident claimed the youngster had left sometime prior. That’s when the Greywinds dialed 911, with her mother having a horrible gut feeling that her daughter didn’t even step out of the upstairs residence alive and she relayed as much to officials.
However, once officials arrived, Brooke let them in to explore her apartment without any hesitancy despite her boyfriend William Hoehn also being there and made it clear Savanna was not inside her home. Officials did return two more times to conduct similar searches, and she cooperated each time — though she never really opened the door for Savanna’s worried parents. In the end, it took a few weeks, but on August 27, the 22 year old was found hung up on a log on the Red River near Harwood; she had plastic bags wrapped around her and her womb had been cut open.
Savanna Greywind was Killed For Her Child
The truth is that three days before Savanna was found, officials were able to paint a clear picture of what’d transpired thanks to Brooke and William’s activities as well as shopping lists. It turns out the latter had recently bought diapers for newborns despite neither him nor his girlfriend or any of their loved ones having a child this young, driving authorities to obtain a search warrant. This is how they were truly able to examine every nook and cranny of their apartment, just to find a tiny little newborn kind of hidden away – upon being rushed to the hospital, she was determined to be 4 pounds, 13 ounces, in good health, and Savanna’s daughter.
That’s when it came to light that Brooke and William had had a tumultuous relationship, and in a moment of weakness during a fight, she’d claimed to be pregnant, something they both craved as they believed it would complete their family. However, as time passed and it became clear the former wasn’t going to give birth anytime soon, she invited Savanna over to take her baby away. According to reports, she led the youngster into her bathroom and shoved her so that her head struck the sink, knocking her unconscious, only to then slash open her belly and pull the baby out as she struggled to come to.
William did step into the bathroom around this period upon hearing the commotion, but instead of doing anything to aid Savanna, he helped his girlfriend finish the job by strangling her with a rope. Police records also suggest that the duo then took a shower and cleaned up the area before shoving Savanna’s body into a chest of drawers in their bedroom. That’s where she actually remained for three police visits, that is, until the couple decided to dispose of her in the lake in the middle of the night, knowing further questions might soon arise.
While the baby Haisley Jo, was subsequently placed under temporary protective custody of Cass County Social Services, Brooke and William were charged with conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, and providing false information to police. Later on, the count of murder was also added. Initially, both assailants denied all allegations, but Brooke confessed following three months in detention – her actions were too heinous for even her dreams – further enabling officials to strengthen the case against them and raise awareness of the plight of missing and murdered indigenous women.
Brooke Crews and William Hoehn Are Now Behind Bars
In the end, while Brooke pled guilty and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, William stood trial and was deemed a dangerous individual before being sentenced to life in prison without parole too. However, upon appeal, a judge ruled his classification was unnecessary, and that led to him being sentenced to 21 years behind bars. Therefore, today, while Brooke is incarcerated at the Dakota Women’s Correctional and Rehabilitation Center, William is also detained in a state correctional facility.
