{"id":279524,"date":"2026-09-05T06:12:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T06:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/279524\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T06:12:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T06:12:08","slug":"pennsylvania-college-student-karoline-heintz-discovery-police-bodycam-footage-released","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/279524\/","title":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania college student Karoline Heintz discovery police bodycam footage released"},"content":{"rendered":"

Authorities released police bodycam footage Thursday showing the discovery of a Pennsylvania college student\u2019s body<\/a> that led to the arrest of her boyfriend, who said in court documents that a \u201cdemon\u201d told him to stab her.<\/p>\n

The boyfriend\u2019s mother, meanwhile, is accused of helping him cover up the crime, according to state police.<\/p>\n

Royce Moser, 18, of North Strabane Township, faces a homicide charge 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 college, according to a criminal complaint.<\/p>\n

Police officers look in the back of a Jeep where the body of Karoline Heintz was discovered after she was allegedly murdered by her boyfriend Royce Moser on Aug. 20, 2026. California Borough Police Department via AP<\/p>\n

Moser said he became angry with Heintz during a conversation in her vehicle in Moser\u2019s driveway and that he had a \u201cdemon take over\u201d and tell him to stab her, according to the police affidavit.<\/p>\n

A preliminary hearing was held Tuesday for Moser and his mother, Rachel Moser,<\/a> in Heintz\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The 37-minute video released Thursday is from an officer\u2019s body-worn camera. It shows the California, Pennsylvania, police officer walking up to Karoline Heintz\u2019s Jeep in the dark.<\/p>\n

The officer points a flashlight inside the back window, yells toward another officer nearby, then gets on his radio.<\/p>\n

\u201cControl, I need EMS here right now,\u201d the officer said. \u201cI\u2019ve got an unconscious female in the back of this car right now. Any additional units, any in the available area, please.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 37-minute video released Thursday is from an officer\u2019s body-worn camera. It shows the California, Pennsylvania, police officer walking up to Karoline Heintz\u2019s Jeep in the dark. California Borough Police Department via AP<\/p>\n

Karoline Heintz was a freshman on the California University of Pennsylvania women\u2019s soccer team. California University of Pennsylvania Athletics<\/p>\n

Royce Moser and Karoline Heintz, pictured for prom, had allegedly discussed their future before he allegedly killed her. Instagram \/ @roycemoser26<\/p>\n

An operator radios back, \u201cIs she breathing?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNegative,\u201d the officer responds as sirens are heard in the background. \u201cI\u2019ve got blood everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

The officer then breaks two windows to gain access inside the vehicle.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet someone here now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

According to the affidavit, Moser said he told Heintz, \u201cwait, I have something for you\u201d before retrieving a knife from his home.<\/p>\n

The victim fell out of her vehicle after being stabbed and Moser put her in the back hatch before getting into the driver\u2019s seat.<\/p>\n

Moser then asked his mother to follow him to PennWest California University in southwestern Pennsylvania to drop off the vehicle, the affidavit said.<\/p>\n

Heintz\u2019s father had asked police to look for his daughter\u2019s vehicle after she failed to return to campus, and indicated an AirTag in the vehicle showed she was in a parking lot, according to a criminal complaint.<\/p>\n

Police found Karoline Heintz\u2019s body in the vehicle.<\/a><\/p>\n

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The AirTag also indicated Heintz had been at Moser\u2019s home earlier.<\/p>\n

Royce and Rachel Moser were later located at Rachel Moser\u2019s residence in Beallsville.<\/p>\n

According to the affidavit, Rachel Moser told her son to bathe and change his clothes, which she placed in a washing machine.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Moser said he became angry with Heintz during a conversation in her vehicle in Moser\u2019s driveway and that he had a \u201cdemon take over\u201d and tell him to stab her. WTAE<\/p>\n

Rachel Moser allegedly helped her son cover up the murder, cleaning up the scene before dumping Heintz\u2019s body in the car near campus. WTAE-TV Pittsburgh<\/p>\n

Karoline Heintz is pictured with her family. Heintz was found dead inside her parked vehicle near the California Borough Library. Gofundme<\/p>\n

The knife was retrieved after investigators obtained a search warrant.<\/p>\n

Royce and Rachel Moser both were charged with tampering with evidence, abuse of a corpse and obstruction of justice.<\/p>\n

Rachel Moser, 56, also was charged with hindering the apprehension of a fugitive and criminal use of a communication device.<\/p>\n

Their next court appearance is a formal arraignment scheduled for Oct. 13.<\/p>\n

Mother and son are being held without bail in the Washington County jail.<\/p>\n

Heintz\u2019s family issued a statement asking the public to respect their wishes for privacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a parent\u2019s worst nightmare,\u201d the statement said. \u201cIt 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 \u201csweet\u201d Karoline.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Authorities released police bodycam footage Thursday showing the discovery of a Pennsylvania college student\u2019s body that led to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":279525,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[20303,457,28,30,29,116951,3315,302],"class_list":["post-279524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-colleges-and-universities","tag-homicide","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news","tag-police-body-cameras","tag-students","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279524"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279524\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/279525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}