Stories Of Abused Men In North Carolina
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Abstracted from story in True Crime Avenue
August 19, 2017 — Living directly above the victim was a couple, Brooke Crews, 38, and William Hoehn, 32. Their relationship was toxic and unstable, characterized by frequent arguments and troubling behavior.
The police had been called to their apartment multiple times due to violent altercations between the two.
Additionally, both had a history of run-ins with the law.
Despite a court order forbidding Hoehn from contacting Brooke Crews, the two continued living together in the Fargo apartment complex.
Brooke Crews had a troubled past. She had seven children from previous relationships but no contact with any of them.
Her partner, William Hoehn also had two children from prior relationships, but like Crews, he was estranged from them.
Their lives were filled with chaos, and their relationship was far from stable, but somehow Ms. Crews thought a new baby would fix things.
This instability would soon lead to a horrifying act that no one saw coming. Their crime was revealed after two kayakers discovered a body wrapped in plastic in the Red River.
Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind was a vibrant 22-year-old living with her family in Fargo, North Dakota in an apartment directly below Crews and Hoehn. She had recently started working as a nursing assistant and dreamed of one day becoming a nurse specializing in elder care.
She was about to move in with her boyfriend, Ashton Matheny, as they were preparing to welcome their baby in September.
Savanna's day started like any other, but later that day her upstairs neighbor, Brooke Crews, asked her for a favor, requesting that Savanna model a dress she had created. In exchange, she offered Savanna $20.
Always helpful and kind, Savanna agreed.
At 1:24 PM, Savanna texted her family, letting them know about her plans to help Brooke Crews.
She had ordered a pizza for lunch. However, before it arrived, she had already gone upstairs to Crews' apartment. So her mother, Norberta Greywind, expected her back soon. But Savanna never returned.
As time passed, Savanna's mother grew increasingly worried. It wasn't like Savanna to be out of touch for long.
She had left her purse, her car, and even the pizza untouched.
Norberta texted her daughter repeatedly, but there was no response.
By 4:30 PM, unable to shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong, Norberta reported her daughter missing to the Fargo police, who arrived at the apartment building at 5 PM.
They spoke with Ms. Crews, who claimed that Savanna had left around 2:45 PM.
However, Norberta knew this didn't make sense and knew something was off. Savanna wouldn't have walked off without her belongings, especially not while eight months pregnant.
The police searched Brooke Crews apartment, the last place Savanna was seen. The search yielded nothing.
Thankfully, a later tip from one of William Hoehn's coworkers shifted the investigation and blew the case wide open.
His coworkers revealed that Hoehn and Crews had a new baby at home but this baby had not been mentioned during the police searches.
Armed with this new information, the police returned to Crews apartment on August 24, 2024.
This time, they discovered the truth. Lying on the bed was a healthy baby girl. DNA testing confirmed that the baby belonged to Savanna.
Ms. Crews was immediately arrested, and Hoehn was taken into custody at his workplace.
The grim reality of what had happened to Savanna soon came to light.
Brooke had lured Savanna Greywind to her apartment under the guise of needing help with a dress. Once Savanna was inside, Crews attacked her, pushing her to the floor in the bathroom.
Savanna hit her head on the sink and lost consciousness.
With Savanna incapacitated, Crews grabbed a knife and began a crude and violent Cesarean section, cutting into Savanna's abdomen to steal her baby.
As Crews cleaned up the scene, William Hoehn returned home. Crews showed Hoehn the newborn, saying, “This is our baby. This is our family.”
Savanna had been drifting in and out of consciousness due to the severe blood loss. Hoehn then grabbed a rope and strangled Savanna, ensuring she wouldn't survive.
The couple first stuffed Savanna's body in their closet and continued with their lives as though nothing had happened. Later, Crews and Hoehn disposed of Savanna's body by dumping it into the Red River.
Nine days later, kayakers discovered Savanna's remains in the Red River.
Brooke Crews was charged with conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, and lying to police. She expressed remorse, but nothing could undo the damage her actions had caused.
At trial Ms. Crews testified that Hoehn pressured her to “produce a baby” after figuring out she had lied about being pregnant. She had apparently concocted a phony pregnancy to keep from losing William Hoehn.
In December 2017, she pled guilty to all charges and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
William Hoehn was charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping and lying to police. He denied involvement in Savanna's murder but was convicted of his other crimes.
Hoehn was sentenced to life in prison but avoided a murder conviction.
In the wake of Savanna's tragic death, her baby girl now lives with her father, Ashton Matheny.
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