Placer DA files murder, torture charges against Roseville couple in girl’s death
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- Placer County prosecutors filed murder and torture charges against a Roseville couple.
- Retuquel Dupree and Jessica Savangsy are accused in the death of a 7-year-old girl.
- The girl and her 5-year-old sister, both Savangsy’s daughters, were found with injuries.
Placer County prosecutors have formally filed murder and torture charges against a Roseville couple accused in the death of a 7-year-old girl found with injuries Monday along with her injured little sister.
Retuquel Dupree, 27, and Jessica Savangsy, 26, remained in custody Wednesday at South Placer Jail. Dupree and Savangsy were initially arrested Monday on felony charges of homicide, child abuse causing great bodily injury or death and criminal conspiracy.
The two girls found with injuries at the Roseville couple’s home, including the child who died, were Savangsy’s daughters.
The Placer County District Attorney’s Office formally filed the murder and torture charges against Dupree and Savangsy on Tuesday evening. Dupree and Savangsy were scheduled to appear Wednesday afternoon in Placer Superior Court for their arraignment in the murder case.
Law enforcement officials have said little about the homicide investigation. Court records show that the couple was already facing criminal charges on Monday when Savangsy’s daughter were found injured.
Gun and theft charges
About two months ago, Roseville police arrested Savangsy and Dupree in connection with thefts at the Westfield Galleria.
Court records show Dupree and Savangsy were initially arrested on felony charges of grand theft and criminal conspiracy for alleged incidents at the mall Oct. 6.
Dupree, a former Citrus Heights police officer, faced an additional misdemeanor charge of possessing a loaded gun in a public place. Dupree and Savangsy were jailed and released after they each posted a $30,000 bail bond. They were ordered to appear Nov. 17 for their arraignment in court.
The day following the arrests, Sierra College officials placed Dupree on administrative leave. He had worked as a community safety officer since April 10, 2024, at the college campus in Rocklin. On Monday night, a Sierra College spokesperson told The Sacramento Bee that campus officials could not disclose any further details about Dupree’s administrative leave because it was a personnel matter.
On Nov. 13, the District Attorney’s Office filed a criminal complaint against the couple, formally charging Savangsy with four counts of misdemeanor petty theft and Dupree with the misdemeanor gun possession. The felony charges the couple initially faced were gone.
The criminal complaint alleges Savangsy stole items from Lush cosmetics, Oakley, Sports Fever and GameStop stores at the Galleria. At the Nov. 17 arraignment hearing, Dupree and Savangsy pleaded not guilty to the charges. The judge ordered them to stay away from the mall while free on bail and awaiting prosecution.
Child’s death in west Roseville
About 7:30 a.m. Monday, officers were called to the couple’s home in the Fiddyment Farm neighborhood off North Harden Parkway and Holt Parkway.
Medics initially were called to the home in the 200 block of Oahu Court where an adult resident reported the 7-year-old girl was unresponsive. Officers arrived and found the girl inside the home, and it appeared she had injuries, said Sgt. Nick Gaines, a Roseville police spokesperson.
Gaines said the girl was taken to a hospital, where she died.
Officers searched the home and found a 5-year-old girl in a bedroom who also had injuries. Gaines said the 5-year-old was taken to a hospital for treatment. He said the girl, as of Monday night, was listed in stable condition.
Two other children, who were Dupree’s daughters, were asleep inside the house and were not injured. On Tuesday morning, Gaines said the girls were placed in the care of Child Protective Services.
Lawsuit against Citrus Heights police
On March 20, 2024, Dupree filed a civil lawsuit against the Citrus Heights Police Department. Dupree alleged in a lawsuit that he was wrongfully fired from his job as an officer. He had only been on the job a few months.
Dupree said his former fiancee and the mother of his two daughters filed a false report in July 2021 with the Elk Grove Police Department that claimed the former Natomas High and Yuba College football athlete was physical with her. Dupree alleges in the lawsuit that his former fiancee “made false allegations because she was upset that she and (he) were no longer in a relationship, and she was afraid that (he) was going to get custody of their daughters.”
The lawsuit against Citrus Heights police is still pending, and the civil case is scheduled to return for a settlement conference next year in Sacramento Superior Court, though it was unclear how the Placer murder case would affect the suit. Dupree’s attorneys did not respond on Tuesday to The Bee’s request for a comment.
Placer family court records show Dupree’s former fiancee in December 2021 petitioned and received a domestic violence restraining order against the former police officer. That was followed by a custody battle in court.
In May 2022, the family court judge vacated the restraining order against Dupree. The judge also ordered the parents to have joint-custody of their daughters, along with orders for the parents to exchange custody of the girls in the parking lots of a Sacramento County sheriff’s station or the Roseville Police Department. A few months later, the court ordered the parents again to participate in co-parenting counseling.
On Aug. 4, Dupree’s former fiancee petitioned the court for a temporary restraining order against Savangsy, the girlfriend, alleging harassment. The filed petition did not include any details about the allegations; it requested personal conduct orders and a stay-away order.
The court delayed the orders until the request could be made in court at an Aug. 22 hearing. Court records show that hearing didn’t take place, and it is unclear whether Dupree’s former fiancee followed through with her petition. The Bee’s attempt to speak to the former fiancee on Tuesday was unsuccessful.
