Police have charged a Pittsburgh-area boy with murder after he posted a selfie on Snapchat with the victim's body.
According to court documents, police charged 16-year-old Maxwell Marion Morton with the fatal shooting of Ryan Mangan, also 16, in the face. Morton then allegedly posed for a self-portrait with the body, which he sent to a friend via Snapchat.
Snapchat's photo messages are designed to self-destruct once sent but, as most users know, there are loopholes around Snapchat's auto-delete feature, such as taking a screenshot of the photo or using a third-party app to save pictures. Morton's friend apparently saved the Snapchat photo before it deleted itself, then showed the picture to his mother, who contacted the police.
16yo arrested for Mangan's murder: Maxwell Morton (pic). Police say he sent selfie of him & dead Mangan to a friend. pic.twitter.com/XqJFEuVHLj— Courtney Fischer (@courtneyWTAE) February 7, 2015
“[Police] received a copy of the photo which depicted the victim sitting in the chair with a gunshot wound to the face,” reads a police affidavit. “It also depicts a black male taking the ‘selfie,' with his face facing the camera and the victim behind the actor. The photo had the name ‘Maxwell' across the top.”
According to the affidavit, Morton also sent messages to his friend that read, "Told you I cleaned up the shells" and "Ryan was not the last one."
Investigators searched Morton's home on Friday and found a 9 mm handgun; in Mangan's bedroom, police also found a 9 mm casing.
Morton confessed to Mangan's murder after police found the weapon, according to the affidavit. The teen is being held without bail and is being charged as an adult for first-degree murder, homicide and possession of a firearm.
UPDATED 2:30 P.M. PST to include details from the affidavit.