Suspect In Bucks Co. Teen's Murder Detained

The cousin of a 14-year-old Bucks County girl who was fatally shot and stabbed in her home last week has been arrested on gun charges. He is considered a suspect in the girl's murder, police said Tuesday.

Authorities on Monday charged Colin Haag, 20, with stealing two guns belonging to the victim's father. Haag was arraigned Monday on one count of theft of the guns by unlawful taking or disposition, a felony of the second degree.

Autumn Bartle died Monday morning at St. Christopher's Hospital in Philadelphia, three days after she was shot and stabbed in her family's Bristol Township home. Her parents came home around 6:30 p.m. Friday to find her injured. Haag, who lived with the family, was not home at the time. The stolen guns, owned by the victim's father, were missing.

Haag was located by police a few hours later along State Road in Bensalem, with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the neck.

The guns, a .380 Smith and Wesson Bodyguard pistol and a 9mm Smith and Wesson M&P pistol, had been stored by Michael Bartle in his upstairs bedroom of his Sycamore Avenue home, according to an affidavit of probable cause. They were found in Haag's possession.

Haag was charged upon his release from Jefferson Hospital Philadelphia, where he had undergone treatment for the gunshot wound.

His bail was set at $100,000. Haag is being held at the Bucks County Correctional Facility in lieu of that amount. A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled for 9:15 a.m. April 11 at District Court in Bristol.

Image via Bucks County DA