Joshua M. Moser received “weird” and “disturbing” cellphone messages from David S. Hittinger shortly before Hittinger was killed and his body was dismembered in Moser’s Slatington home , two state troopers testified Friday during Moser’s preliminary hearing at the Lehigh County Courthouse.
The messages were not detailed during the hourlong hearing, which was held to determine if the case against Moser should proceed to trial. District Judge Rashid Santiago bound over the charges against Moser of homicide, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.
Troopers Taylor Dietrich and John Snyder said Moser and his girlfriend, Sarah Kleintop, had gone to a hotel May 11 to spend the night when Moser began receiving the messages from Hittinger.
The pair returned to Moser’s house on West Franklin Street, with Moser telling Kleintop to stay outside. When he returned, Moser told Kleintop he needed to “clean up” the basement, which was where Hittinger was living. Hittinger, 37, had been left homeless after a fire in Allentown when Moser took him in as a housemate, according to testimony.
Moser and Kleintop went back to the hotel, returning to the house the next day, May 12. Kleintop said she never saw what transpired in the basement, but when she asked Moser about Hittinger, he initially told her, “Everything is fine,” Dietrich said. The next day, Moser told Kleintop, “He is gone,” the trooper said.
Kleintop and a friend of Hittinger’s, who came to Slatington looking for him, notified authorities, according to Dietrich. She said Hittinger was reported missing with his name entered into the National Crime Information Center database.
Authorities obtained and executed a search warrant of the home and found a “large pool of blood” beneath two foam mattresses, along with human bone fragments and pieces of hair and skin, Dietrich said.
Snyder said a preliminary autopsy report showed Hittinger died from multiple injuries, including blunt force trauma to the head.
During questioning by Moser’s attorney, Richard S. Roberts Jr., Snyder also said results of an autopsy showed Hittinger was found to have methamphetamines and amphetamines in his system.
Snyder also said when Moser arrived at the house, he encountered Hittinger, and the two got into an “altercation.” Snyder said Hittinger tried to strangle Moser with an extension cord while the two men were heading down into the basement.
Snyder said Moser was able to fatally hit Hittinger in the back of Hittinger’s skull with a mini-sledgehammer. Moser then brought Hittinger’s body into a basement bathroom, where he dismembered it with a hacksaw and box cutters and placed body pieces in several trash bags. Moser used an electric bike to take the body parts to three locations in the Slatington area, Snyder also said.
Besides dismembering Hittinger’s body, Moser removed his teeth, Snyder said, adding that pliers believed to have been used by Moser were found during the investigation.
Asked about Moser’s demeanor during their interview, Snyder said Moser told him he felt bad and “had regret.”
“He also said he was not going to cry over this person,” Snyder said.
Moser, who turned 34 on Wednesday, showed no emotion during the hourlong hearing. He was handcuffed, and took notes while seated next to Roberts.
Moser nodded to family members as he entered the courtroom. He was later returned to Lehigh County Jail, where he has been held without bail since his arrest.
Relatives for both men appeared in the courtroom but declined to comment before and after the hearing.
Roberts said afterward the case is “more than meets the eye.”
“Obviously, there are gruesome details here,” he said, “but there is more to what happened in that basement.”
Hittinger, who was 37 years old, was described in his obituary as an outdoors lover with an infectious laugh and deep voice. He was an Eagle Scout who had held various jobs as a photographer, writer and carpenter, according to his social media account.
The prosecution tried to paint Moser as violent, noting Kleintop obtained a court protection from abuse order.
Roberts asked Dietrich if Kleintop feared Moser would harm her. Dietrich said Kleintop told authorities Moser could be violent.
“That is why she obtained the PFA,” Dietrich said.
Moser previously pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle in a February 2016 drunken driving crash that killed 24-year-old Nicole Gruber in Washington Township, Lehigh County. Moser, Gruber and another man were at a bar before the crash. Moser had a blood-alcohol content of 0.15%, according to officials. The other man was a passenger in the car and suffered serious injuries.
Moser was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison in that case.
Memorial concert Sunday
A memorial concert for Hittinger is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sunday at Vargtimmen King Koffee, 506 Chestnut St. in Emmaus, according to a musician with the Jeff Epstein Band, which is one of groups scheduled to perform. For more information, contact King Koffee at 610-965-3257.
Morning Call reporter Anthony Salamone can be reached at asalamone@mcall.com .
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