Teen Struggled To Escape As Cousin Stabbed Her 80 Times: Bucks DA

Prosecutors laid out in gruesome detail the circumstances surrounding the death of a 14-year-old Bucks County girl, whose cousin was charged Friday in connection with her stabbing and shooting death exactly one week ago.

Colin Haag III, 20, was arraigned Friday on charges of criminal homicide. He is being held without bail in the Bucks County Correctional Facility pending a preliminary hearing, which is tentatively scheduled for April 11.

Autumn Bartle died three days after she was savagely attacked — shot in the head and stabbed more than 80 times — by her own relative, authorities said. The teen, described as spunky and well-liked by her peers, was found by her mother, Tiffany Larison, around 6:40 p.m. on Good Friday. She was unconscious on the living room floor. There was blood throughout the home and signs of an obvious struggle, police said.

Authorities did not lay out a motive for the crime, but said Haag, who lived in the basement of the Bartle family's home, was "nowhere to be found" when Autumn's mother returned. He was later located in Bensalem by police after shooting himself in the neck.

An autopsy conducted Tuesday determined that the teen died from a gunshot wound to the head and multiple stab wounds. She had been stabbed more than 80 times, the examination found.

Detectives said there was evidence of a "desperate struggle" in the bathroom of the Sycamore Avenue home in the township's Croydon section. There were bloody handprints on the outside of the bathroom window, which police believe show she tried to escape. Another set of bloody prints show someone had "grabbed" the window sash and locked it.

“It appeared that Autumn Bartle had been confined to the bathroom area when she was brutally stabbed numerous times," the affidavit said.

Ballistics tests determined that the fatal bullet was fired from a gun Haag was carrying in the hours after the attack, according to a probable cause affidavit. Authorities allege Haag had stolen the gun from Autumn's father.

Upon returning home after the attack, Michael Bartle Jr. discovered the two handguns in his attic bedroom were missing, authorities said.

Three hours after the attack, Bensalem police found Haag walking with a backpack along State Road. He ran when the officers approved, and shot himself in the throat. He was eventually subdued and taken into custody. Both of the missing guns were found in his possession, authorities said.

Also in Haag’s backpack was a spiral notebook with blood matching Autumn DNA, the affidavit said, and a blood-marked notation on the last page stating, “this is the last of Slim that’s all you get it’s the end 4 me.”

Haag was charged on Monday with stealing the two guns. He had been held since then at the Bucks County Correctional Facility in lieu of $100,000 cash bail.

The additional charges filed Friday include criminal homicide, aggravated assault, burglary, kidnapping, unlawful restraint of a minor, receiving stolen property, carrying a firearm without a license, and possessing an instrument of crime.

Autumn died Monday morning at St. Christopher’s Hospital in Philadelphia. Her organs were donated by her family. An online fundraising campaign has been established to help the family pay for medical and funeral costs.

Image of Colin Haag, via Bucks County DA