Brampton mayor demands stricter bail reform after mother of 4 shot dead
Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown says the killing of Savannah Kulla, a 29-year-old mother who was shot dead in a Brampton parking lot this week, is proof Canada’s bail system is “failing” victims.
In a press conference Thursday afternoon, Brown, alongside Peel Regional Police Supt. David Kennedy, said the accused, Anthony DeShepper, who shot and killed Kulla should never have been out on bail given his violent history.
Police say Kulla was shot Tuesday afternoon after meeting DeShepper, her former partner, to let him spend time with their 17-month-old daughter.
DeShepper fled the scene with the child, prompting an Amber Alert across Ontario. Hours later, police found him in Niagara Falls, where he was shot and killed during an interaction with officers.
Now their daughter, along with Kulla’s three sons, are motherless.
“Our system has failed Savannah Kulla,” said Brown, who is renewing calls for urgent bail reform after the tragedy.
“This tragedy was predictable and preventable.”
While police and SIU continue to investigate the tragedy, the spotlight has now fallen on Desheppers’ violent past and has raised questions on his bail release.
Get daily National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
Kennedy confirmed that DeShepper had an “extensive criminal past” that included robbery, assault and weapons offences, and that he was bound by several court orders not to contact Kulla or possess firearms.
“Clearly, his release posed a significant risk to Savannah and others in our community,” Kennedy said.
Brown compared the case to the 2020 killing of Darion Henderson-Bellman, another Brampton woman shot by a partner who was out on bail for weapons offences.
“We said never again,” Brown said. “Now I hope that this legislation is passed swiftly, because this legislation needs to have been passed not just today but frankly yesterday,” Brown said.
The Brampton tragedy came the same week Ottawa announced a new package of bail and sentencing reforms aimed at keeping repeat violent offenders behind bars.
Public Safety Minister Sean Fraser said the proposed changes would make it harder for those accused of serious crimes to be released before trial, including charges on firearms offences and intimate-partner violence.
The legislation would introduce reverse-onus bail in some cases, meaning accused individuals would have to prove why they should be released. It would also allow for consecutive sentences for repeat offenders and add 1,000 new RCMP officers to help enforce the changes.
Brown said Brampton was one of the first cities to petition for stricter bail rules, including reverse-onus for repeat violent offenders and zero tolerance for breaches of weapons prohibitions.
“There is no reason that person should not have been in custody,” Brown said. “We owe that to Savannah Kulla,” he added.
The victim’s mother, Karen Kulla, told Global News in an interview that her daughter feared DeShepper might kill her.
She said to me a month ago, ‘If I stay with him, he’s going to end up killing me,’” she said through tears.
Peel police have declared gender-based violence an epidemic, and Brown said new laws are only part of the solution.
“By updating the Criminal Code we are making progress,” Brown said.
“But at the same time, there are major gaps there as well. Without proper funding and local implementation, high-risk offenders may slip through the cracks, and families like Savannah Cula’s will continue to pay the price.”
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.