A Harrisburg man was arrested Saturday for strangling and killing his ex-girlfriend in her Lower Paxton Township apartment, police said. James Earl Greer Jr., 27, is charged with criminal homicide in the death of 32-year-old Heather Marie Bechtel.
Officers found Bechtel dead inside her apartment along the 4000 block of Rawleigh Street around 6 a.m. on Saturday.
Police arrested Greer in the emergency room of Harrisburg Hospital after he tried to poison himself. Two children, ages 2 and 6, were inside the apartment at the time Bechtel was killed, police said.
Both children have been placed in the custody of family members. Police say Greer was the father of the two-year-old.
Investigators say they had been to the victim’s apartment on prior occasions for domestic violence issues between Greer and Bechtel.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 17.
Greer was denied bail and taken to Dauphin County Prison.