Man pleads guilty to killing wife who went missing; body found months later
MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. -- A Mount Laurel, N.J., man has pleaded guilty to killing his wife last year on New Year's Eve and later disposing of her body in a rural area in Maryland, the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office announced Tuesday.
Kyle Crosby, 29, entered a guilty plea to Aggravated Manslaughter and Hindering Apprehension.
Crosby will serve a 31-year sentence in state prison.
According officials, Crosby admitted in court that on December 31, 2014, he fatally choked his wife, Erica Crippen, 26, inside their Mount Laurel home and later transported her body to Maryland.
Investigators found Crippen's body March 17 along a rural road in Sykesville, Maryland. She had been missing since New Year's Eve, and her body was discovered under some branches and brush. Prosecutors have said the body was wrapped in a blanket; her arms, legs and neck were bound with an electrical cord and duct tape was on her face and nose.
Crosby's mother, Jo Crosby, 68, of Sicklerville, N.J., was indicted in April on one count of Hindering Apprehension and one count of Tampering With or Fabricating Physical Evidence.
She is free on $12,500 bail.
As part of the plea agreement with Kyle Crosby, the charges against his mother will be dismissed at sentencing.
The remains of Erica Crippen were discovered by investigators in Sykesville, Maryland; police used the GPS found in Crosby's vehicle after he was taken into custody on January 12.
More than 8,600 coordinates had been recorded by the GPS device.
Investigators determined that Crosby had spent more time along Old Frederick Road in Carroll County than at other locations and concentrated the search in that area.
An autopsy concluded that the manner of death was homicide and the cause was asphyxiation.
The couple lived in Mount Laurel, in southern New Jersey, with their infant daughter and Crippen's 7-year-old daughter.
Sentencing is set for February 4, 2016.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
