An 18-year-old Pennsylvania college soccer player was fatally stabbed by her boyfriend during an argument about their relationship, then left in the back of her own Jeep after his mother allegedly helped scrub the blood and move the body, according to Pennsylvania State Police.
Karoline Jordyn Heintz, an incoming freshman defender on the PennWest California Vulcans women’s soccer team, was found dead in the rear hatch of her gray Jeep Cherokee near the California Public Library just after midnight on Thursday, August 20. Officers responding to a welfare check called in by her family discovered blood spattered inside and outside the vehicle and her body stuffed in the back.
Authorities say the killing happened hours earlier outside the home of her boyfriend’s father in North Strabane Township. Heintz, a recent Peters Township High School graduate from the McMurray area, had spent Wednesday with family and was heading back toward campus when she met 18-year-old Royce Jones Moser. The couple sat in her Jeep talking about how their relationship would work once she started college. Trooper Rocco Gagliardi of the State Police Troop B Major Case Team said the conversation “went a little bit south.”
According to the criminal complaint, Moser told Heintz, “Wait, I have something for you,” went inside the house, grabbed a large kitchen knife, and stabbed her in the chest. She fell out of the vehicle. He picked her up, put her body in the rear hatch, and drove roughly 16 miles to his mother Rachel Moser’s home in Beallsville.
There, police say, 56-year-old Rachel Moser helped clean blood from the Jeep with disinfectant sprays, handed her son latex gloves, put the knife in a garbage bag, told him to bathe and shower, and washed his clothes. She then instructed him to follow her toward the university. The two left the blood-stained Jeep near the library with Heintz still inside the hatch. Rachel drove her son back to her house afterward.
Heintz’s family grew worried when she failed to check in as planned. They tracked her location and called 911 around 12:14 a.m. California Borough officers found the Jeep minutes later. State police solved the case within about 12 hours. Both mother and son were arrested Thursday and taken to Washington County Jail. Bail was denied.
Royce Moser faces charges of criminal homicide, tampering with evidence, abuse of a corpse, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice. Rachel Moser is charged with hindering apprehension of a fugitive, tampering with evidence, abuse of a corpse, conspiracy, and obstruction.
In statements to investigators, Royce claimed a “demon take over” told him to stab his girlfriend. Rachel told police her son said “demons” instructed him to hurt Heintz. When led away in handcuffs Thursday night, she covered her face and said, “I’m sorry… that my son took a life.”
Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh called it a domestic situation with no ongoing threat to the public. PennWest University issued a statement of deep sadness, noting the incident occurred off campus. Peters Township School District also expressed grief and offered counseling support to students and staff.
Heintz was listed as a 5-foot-9 freshman defender, jersey No. 21, on the 2026 Vulcans roster. She had committed to the Division II program in late 2025 and was days away from the start of the season. The investigation remains active with the district attorney’s office.
