Pennsylvania authorities released police bodycam footage Thursday showing the moment officers discovered a murdered college student in the back of her Jeep, a discovery that led to homicide charges against her teenage boyfriend and his mother.
Royce Moser, 18, of North Strabane Township, faces homicide in the death of Karoline Heintz, a student at PennWest California University whose body was found Aug. 20 after she failed to return to the southwestern Pennsylvania campus, according to a criminal complaint. His mother, Rachel Moser, 56, is accused of helping him cover up the crime.
The 37-minute video released Thursday comes from an officer’s body-worn camera. It shows the California, Pennsylvania, police officer approaching Heintz’s Jeep in darkness, flashlight in hand.
The officer points the flashlight inside the back window, yells toward another officer nearby, then gets on his radio.
“Control, I need EMS here right now,” the officer said. “I’ve got an unconscious female in the back of this car right now. Any additional units, any in the available area, please.”
An operator radios back, “Is she breathing?”
“Negative,” the officer responds as sirens are heard in the background. “I’ve got blood everywhere.”
The officer then breaks two windows to gain access inside the vehicle.
Heintz’s father had asked police to look for his daughter’s vehicle after she failed to return to campus, indicating an AirTag in the vehicle showed she was in a parking lot, according to a criminal complaint. The AirTag also indicated Heintz had been at Moser’s home earlier.
According to the police affidavit, Moser said he became angry with Heintz during a conversation in her vehicle in Moser’s driveway and that he had a “demon take over” and tell him to stab her. He told Heintz, “wait, I have something for you” before retrieving a knife from his home, the affidavit states.
The victim fell out of her vehicle after being stabbed and Moser put her in the back hatch before getting into the driver’s seat, according to the affidavit. Moser then asked his mother to follow him to PennWest California University to drop off the vehicle.
Royce and Rachel Moser were later located at Rachel Moser’s residence in Beallsville. According to the affidavit, Rachel Moser told her son to bathe and change his clothes, which she placed in a washing machine. She then took the knife and put it in a garbage bag to dispose of in the trash outside her home, according to the affidavit. The knife was retrieved after investigators obtained a search warrant.
A preliminary hearing was held Tuesday for both Mosers in Heintz’s death.
An attorney for Royce Moser declined to comment on the charges against him, and a message left for a public defender representing Rachel Moser was not immediately returned.
Heintz’s family issued a statement asking the public to respect their wishes for privacy.
“This is a parent’s worst nightmare,” the statement said. “It has been devastating for family, friends, and the whole community. Karoline was loved by all. She was a kind, smart, beautiful girl. We want justice for our “sweet” Karoline.”
Mother and son are being held without bail in the Washington County jail.
Their next court appearance is a formal arraignment scheduled for Oct. 13.