A Burlington County Grand Jury indicted a Mt. Laurel man charged with murdering his wife on Dec. 31, 2014.
Kyle Crosby, 28, of Mt. Laurel, was indicted last Tuesday on one count of first degree murder, one count of desecration of human remains, one count of hindering apprehension and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
His mother, 67-year-old Jo Crosby of Sicklervile, was also indicted on one county of hindering apprehension and one count of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.
An arraignment will be scheduled soon in Burlington County Superior Court. Kyle is currently in the Burlington County Jail on $1.2 million bail. Jo is free on $12,500 bail.
Kyle was charged on Jan. 13 with one count of Murder for causing the death of his
wife, 26-year-old Erica Crippen, who had been missing since New Year’s Eve. He was taken into custody the evening of Jan. 12 by officers from the Brooklawn Police Department following a traffic stop and foot chase in Bellmawr.
Three searches were conducted in Maryland at different times by investigators from the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, the Mt. Laurel Police Department, the Maryland State Police, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police and the New Jersey State Police.
The remains of Crippen were discovered March 17 by investigators in a rural area in
Sykesville, Md. She was found underneath a pile of branches and limbs in a grove of pine trees off of Old Frederick Road in Carroll County. She was wrapped in a fleece blanket. Her hands and feet had been bound with a cord that was also wrapped around her neck. She had duct tape
across her mouth and nose.
The successful search was conducted following a forensic examination of the Global Positioning System found in Kyle’s vehicle after he was taken into custody on Jan.12. More than 8,600 coordinates had been recorded by the GPS device. Investigators determined that Kyle had spent more time along Old Frederick Road in Carroll County than at other locations.
It is believed that Kyle killed Crippen in the early morning hours of Dec. 31 and
transported her remains to Maryland on Jan. 8.
An autopsy performed by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore, concluded that the manner of death was homicide and the cause was asphyxiation.
Crippen lived with Crosby and two children, a 7-year-old daughter from a previous relationship and their 3-month-old daughter. Her disappearance was brought to the attention of law enforcement officers after school officials contacted the Mt. Laurel Police Department on Jan. 7 and requested a wellness check at the family’s residence. The request came after neither parent was present to pick up the older daughter at the end of the school day.
Kyle signed a missing person report that day indicating he had not seen his wife since Jan. 1. Further investigation led to charges against Kyle filed on Jan. 10 for
Endangering the welfare of a child due to the level of care he provided to the children in the absence of his wife. The existence of the charge allowed law enforcement officers to execute the traffic stop on Jan. 12 and detain Crosby.
Jo Crosby was charged because the investigation revealed that she provided significant assistance to her son as he attempted to conceal Erica’s death.
