Charles Haeger former MLB pitcher shoots self dead after fatally shooting Danielle Breed Long, ex girlfriend. Scottsdale, Arizona woman had taken out restraining order.
A former professional baseball player wanted in the fatal shooting of his ex-girlfriend in a Phoenix suburb was found dead Saturday of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the Grand Canyon, police said.
The body of Charles Haeger, 37, was discovered about 4pm on a trail along the South Rim of the National Park in northern Arizona, Sgt. Ben Hoster, a Scottsdale Police Department spokesman said in a statement Saturday night.
Haeger, who played five seasons in the MLB as a pitcher, had been on the run from police after allegedly shooting to death his 34-year-old ex-girlfriend, Danielle Breed, inside her home in Scottsdale, Friday night. The former girlfriend went by her maiden name of Long.
Breed and Haeger spilt up several months ago and she was seeking a restraining order against him, FOX10 reports.
Haeger is a former professional baseball player who pitched for the White Sox, San Diego Padres, LA Dodgers, Seattle Mariners and the Boston Red Sox.
Former pitcher had gone to ex girlfriend’s home with gun
Police said that Breed’s roommate returned home Friday afternoon and heard shots coming from Breed’s room as he got there, according to the Arizona Republic.
Moments later, Haeger came out of the room with a gun in his hand and pointed the gun at the roommate. The roommate was able to escape out the back of the house and call 911.
The Scottsdale Police SWAT team arrived at on the scene around 7pm, and barricades were used in an attempt to stop the suspect from fleeing, but Haeger managed to evade police.
When police eventually gained access to the residence they found Breed dead in her bed.
Haeger’s unoccupied vehicle, a grey 2020 Chrysler Voyager, was found near Flagstaff in northern Arizona, 118 miles north of Scottsdale, on Saturday, police said.
He was later found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound along the Rim Trail at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon around 4pm.
Haeger, a knuckleball pitcher, spent five seasons in the majors, from 2006-10. He spent his first two seasons with the Chicago White Sox before San Diego claimed him off waivers. After a season with the Padres, Haeger signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers, with whom he pitched two seasons.
‘He shattered a lot of people today and he knows that,’
He also later signed with Seattle and Boston, but never made it to those organization’s MLB club.
Haeger finished his career with a 2-7 record and 6.40 ERA over 34 games (10 starts). In total he played 83 innings in the MLB.
The Chicago Cubs named Haeger the pitching coach of their Double-A affiliate in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Breed, meanwhile, was the owner of The Tipsy Coyote Bar and Grill in Scottsdale.
She would volunteer for her church by going to Africa and working with children. She hoped to go back next year.
Her mother, Jane Long, told Fox that Haeger ‘broke a lot of people’ when he allegedly murdered Breed.
‘He shattered a lot of people today and he knows that,’ she said.
‘He knows that he knows how close our family was. He used to come to the family gatherings and we’re talking about having 30 people 40 people every month.’
Her family says Breed was seeking a restraining order against Haeger for cyberstalking her.
‘He was calling here and asking to you know get back together and she’s like “no, no, no, no, no, no,” Long said.
Long said she could have never imagined Haeger as an accused killer.
A police investigation into the shooting remains ongoing.
