Homicide charge against Allentown man dropped after expert rules woman’s death a suicide

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — An Allentown man jailed since October on homicide charges will be released after an expert ruled the victim died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to her head.

Ethan Bastien, 22, was arrested Oct. 2 and charged with attempted homicide after authorities alleged he shot 18-year-old Sian Cartagena.

Then-Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin upgraded the charge against Bastien to homicide after Cartagena died two days later at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest.

Authorities accused Bastien of fatally shooting Cartagena, though Bastien called 911 and told a dispatcher she shot herself in a second-floor bedroom in the 2000 block of West Green Street.

Bastien was the only other person in the house when Cartagena was shot in the back of the head by a gun he recently bought, officials alleged.

Police said they found gunshot residue on Bastien’s hand.

Firearms expert's ruling

But the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office on Thursday announced its intent to drop charges against Bastien after a forensic pathologist and expert in “firearm injuries” ruled the death a suicide.

“After a full evaluation of all of the evidence and in consultation with this expert, we are now convinced that the death of Sian Cartagena is more likely than not a suicide,” the district attorney's office said.

County prosecutors were working Thursday to finalize withdrawing charges, according to the statement.

“If he has not already been released, we expect he will be released from jail" Thursday, the DA’s office said.

Cartagena, who turned 18 in August 2023, “had so many goals, dreams and plans for herself and her future, just stepping into becoming a young adult,” her mother wrote last on a GoFundMe page to help cover funeral costs.

She was the oldest of five children.