A Pennsylvania teen was arrested after authorities accused him of showing the body of a person fatally shot during an Instagram video chat with an acquaintance.
The 16-year-old suspect, who was taken into custody Friday in Bensalem, northeast of Philadelphia, is said to have asked for help in removing the body during the call, the city’s police said in a press release.
The teen was charged as an adult with murder, tampering with evidence and possession of crime instruments, police said. He was charged Friday night and ordered to be held without bail, they said.
Authorities were made aware of the apparent murder at 4:11 p.m., when a woman called 911 and said an acquaintance of her daughter had called her on Instagram, police said.
Police claimed the teen confessed to the murder and flipped the video, which showed a person’s legs and feet covered in blood.
“He then asked for help in disposing of the body,” they said.
When authorities went to the teenager’s mobile home, they saw someone fleeing from the back of the caravan, police said. They found a person described in the release as a dead young woman with an apparent gunshot wound.
The victim was not publicly identified. Her connection to the teenage suspect remained unclear.
The suspect was caught about a mile from the mobile home and taken into custody, police said. Authorities accused him of taking “substantial” steps to clean up the crime scene.
The teenager was held in a juvenile detention center. It was not immediately clear if he has a lawyer to speak on his behalf.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 7, court records show.