Teen faces murder charge after posting a selfie with the victim to Snapchat
Maxwell Marion Morton is accused of fatally shooting his 16-year-old classmate in the face before snapping a photo of himself with the body and posting it to social media. One of the photo's recipients quickly took a screenshot and showed it to his mother, who contacted the authorities.
"(Police) received a copy of the photo which depicted the victim sitting in the chair with a gunshot wound to the face," a police affidavit obtained by the Pittsburgh Tribune Review states. "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." Morton also allegedly sent incriminating text messages.
Police used the photo to charge Morton with the killing. They also found a 9 mm handgun and a discharged 9 mm casing in Mangan's bedroom while searching his home.
As TechCrunch reports, this is not the first time a murderer has boasted about his crimes on social media. A Washington State man posted graphic photos of his girlfriend on 4chan after strangling her in November, and in 2013 a Florida man posted a murder confession to Facebook along with a photo of his dead wife's corpse.
Morton is currently being held without bail in a juvenile detention center on charges of first-degree murder, homicide and possession of a firearm by a minor.