Bensalem teenager charged with murder after allegedly confessing on Instagram video | Tech Reddy

Bensalem police have charged a 16-year-old Bensalem resident with murder after the teenager told an acquaintance on Instagram video chat that he had killed someone, showing a scene of blood and ask for help in cleaning and disposing of the body.

Shortly after 4 p.m. Friday, Bensalem police received a 911 call from a woman who said her daughter had received an Instagram video call from an acquaintance, later identified as Joshua. Cooper, who said he had just killed someone, police said Saturday. The dispatcher then changed the video, which showed the man’s legs and feet covered in blood, police said.

After the call, Cooper called the informant’s daughter to come help him clean up the area and dispose of the body, according to the arrest warrant affidavit. he said.

Police went to Cooper’s home on the Top of the Ridge Trailer Park in the 1400 block of Gibson Road in Bensalem, where, they say, they saw Cooper running behind the mobile home upon their arrival. Inside the trailer, police said, officers found a 13-year-old girl dead on the bathroom floor with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the chest, along with evidence ” A lot of steps have been taken to clean up the mess.”

As of late Saturday morning the girl’s identity had not been released.

Cooper was arrested a short time later in a nearby wooded area. While in custody, the affidavit states, Cooper told police “it was an accident.”

Cooper was charged with criminal homicide, possession of criminal tools, and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. He was arraigned as an adult but was sent to the Edison Juvenile Detention Center, where he is being held without bail.

Inspecting Sgt. Glenn Vandegrift, a spokesman for the Bensalem police, said the department is grateful that the youth who received the Instagram call did the right thing by contacting a parent immediately.

This is a developing story and will be updated.