MLB

Ex-MLB player sought in ex-girlfriend’s killing dead of self-inflicted gunshot wound

A former Major League Baseball pitcher suspected of killing his ex-girlfriend shot himself dead in the Grand Canyon, according to police and reports.

The body of ex-hurler Charles Haeger, 37, was found on a trail along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona at about 4 p.m. Saturday, said Scottsdale police Sgt. Ben Hoster in a statement.

Cops had been seeking Haeger in the fatal shooting of his 34-year-old bar-owner ex, Danielle Breed, a day earlier, Hoster said.

Haeger was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 2001 and later played for the Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Dodgers. He played 83 innings in the major leagues, according to MLB.com.

Breed’s mother, Jane Long, told Fox10 News in Phoenix that her daughter had wanted to get a restraining order against the ex-pitcher.

“He was calling here and asking to, you know, get back together, and she’s like, ‘No, no, no, no, no,’ ” said the mom of Breed, who owned The Tipsy Coyote Bar and Grill in Scottsdale.

Charlie Haeger throws to a Cincinnati Reds batter during a baseball game in Cincinnati.
Charlie Haeger during a game against the Cincinnati Reds in 2009.AP

Hoster said a male roommate of Breed’s heard gunshots after he came home Friday and that moments later, Haeger came out of the bar owner’s bedroom holding a handgun.

“Haeger then pointed the handgun at the roommate. The roommate quickly escaped out of the back of the residence, and he was able to get a neighbor to call 911,” Hoster said.

Responding police found Breed dead in her bedroom, the official said.

Hours later, Haeger’s unoccupied vehicle was found near Flagstaff in northern Arizona, police said. Flagstaff is 118 miles north of Scottsdale.

With Post Wires