Venetia teen found dead in SUV in California Borough parking lot
Boyfriend, his mother facing charges in PennWest student\\\'s death
A recent Peters Township High School graduate and incoming freshman to PennWest University was found dead in her SUV in a California Borough parking lot early Thursday morning, and her boyfriend and his mother face charges in connection with her death.
The body of 18-year-old Karoline Heintz was found in the back of her SUV near the California Borough Public Library shortly after midnight after she had spent time earlier in the day Wednesday with her family and was preparing to go to college, according to the Washington County coroner’s office.
When Heintz did not make it back to her campus housing at PennWest at the expected time Wednesday, family members began searching for her and tracked her vehicle to the parking lot in the 100 block of Wood Street in the borough. They contacted California Borough police, and officers discovered Heintz’s body with obvious trauma in the vehicle’s cargo area, state police said.
Investigators think Heintz was killed in North Strabane Township and her body was transported in her SUV to the parking lot in California.
State police charged her boyfriend, Royce Moser, 18, of North Strabane with homicide, and he was scheduled to be arraigned late Thursday before being taken to the Washington County jail. His mother, Rachel Moser of Beallsville, faces charges of obstruction of justice, hindering apprehension and evidence tampering.
Trooper Rocco Gagliardi, who is spokesman for the state police barracks in Washington County, said investigators found the suspects and solved the homicide within 12 hours of discovering Heintz’s body.
“We knew right away this was a very serious case, yet an isolated one,” Gagliardi said.
Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh said the killing was the result of a “domestic situation,” although he declined to elaborate on what occurred between the couple. He said there is no danger to the California community or the PennWest campus as students prepare to return to class next week.
“The threat has been handled and quashed. It was an isolated incident to this individual,” Walsh said. “The threat has been quashed as the individuals are in custody. … The community is safe.”
Walsh said investigators searched “multiple scenes,” including a Beallsville residence along Route 40, where two state police vehicles were parked outside Thursday morning. That home at 2857 Main St. in Beallsville is owned by Rachel Moser and was where she was living. Royce Moser was living with his father at a North Strabane home, which was also searched by authorities.
The coroner’s press release did not list a cause of Heintz’s death, and investigators did not immediately say how she died.
“Our condolences and all our hearts go out to this young lady,” Walsh said. “Just 18 years old.”
Heintz, of Venetia, was a member of the Victory Soccer Club in Washington, where the organization said in a Facebook post last year that she was a longtime captain of the girls team. The Peters Township School District posted on Facebook in December that she had signed a letter of intent to play soccer at PennWest this year. The university is scheduled to begin its fall semester Monday.
PennWest spokeswoman Wendy Mackall said the school was “deeply saddened” by Heintz’s death and would be offering support to students and staff who need it.
“We extend our deepest condolences to all who knew and loved her, and we will hold them close in our thoughts during the difficult days ahead,” Mackall said. “PennWest’s counseling center is offering support to our California campus community as we prepare for the start of classes on Monday.”