Newly released police body camera footage shows the moment officers discovered the body of 18-year-old Karoline Heintz inside her Jeep in California Borough, Pennsylvania, days after she was allegedly killed by her boyfriend.
The 37-minute video, released by Pennsylvania’s state court system, shows officers approaching the Jeep shortly after midnight on Aug. 20. The vehicle was parked near the California Public Library in Washington County.
An officer shines a flashlight toward the rear of the vehicle before alerting other officers and requesting emergency medical assistance.
“Control, I need EMS here right now,” the officer says in the footage.
When a 911 dispatcher asks whether the woman is breathing, the officer responds that she is not and reports seeing blood inside the vehicle.
Heintz, a freshman and member of the PennWest California soccer team, had been reported missing before investigators found her body. Authorities have said she was fatally stabbed on Aug. 19 during an encounter with her boyfriend, 18-year-old Royce Moser.
What investigators say happened
According to testimony and court documents presented during Moser’s preliminary hearing, Heintz and Moser met outside his father’s home in North Strabane Township on Aug. 19 to talk about their relationship.
Investigators said the conversation became tense. Moser allegedly went inside the house, obtained a large kitchen knife and stabbed Heintz in the chest.
Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Jessica Bishop testified that Moser told investigators he had attempted to hug and kiss Heintz, but that she did not welcome the contact. He allegedly then told investigators that he went into the house, retrieved a knife and attacked her.
Moser has told investigators that he felt as though a “demon” had taken over and told him to stab Heintz, according to the criminal complaint.
Investigators describe efforts to move the body
Police say Moser later placed Heintz’s body inside the hatch area of her Jeep Cherokee.
Investigators allege that Moser then contacted his mother, Rachel Moser, and that she helped him conceal evidence and move the vehicle.
Phone records presented during the preliminary hearing showed several calls between Royce Moser and his mother on the night of the killing. Investigators said some of those calls had been deleted from the phones but were later recovered through a search warrant.
Investigators also used cellphone-location data to reconstruct portions of the route taken after Heintz’s death. According to testimony, Moser drove Heintz’s Jeep toward his mother’s home in Beallsville before the vehicle was later taken toward California Borough.
The Jeep was eventually left near the California Public Library, where officers found Heintz early the following morning.
New evidence released in the case
The body camera footage is among several pieces of evidence made public this week.
Authorities also released photographs and other investigative material, including images of the vehicle, alleged blood evidence, gloves and a knife investigators believe was used in the killing. Surveillance images also appeared to show Moser driving Heintz’s Jeep after the alleged stabbing.
Investigators have also detailed searches they say were made from Moser’s phone following Heintz’s death.
Among the searches were questions about removing fingerprints, how long Ring camera footage is stored and what God says about murder. Investigators previously said he also searched whether an 18-year-old could receive the death penalty.
Charges against Royce and Rachel Moser
Royce Moser is charged with homicide and other offenses in connection with Heintz’s death.
His mother, Rachel Moser, is also facing charges related to the alleged effort to conceal the crime and dispose of or tamper with evidence.
During the Sept. 1 preliminary hearing, a judge held the charges against both defendants for further court proceedings.
Both remain in the Washington County Jail without bail.
The case is scheduled to move forward with formal arraignment proceedings in October.
The allegations against Moser and his mother have not been proven in court, and both defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Heintz’s death has also prompted an outpouring of grief from people who knew her, including members of the PennWest California soccer community and others who remembered her as a kind and caring young woman.
