Body of Missing New Jersey Woman Found Near Sykesville

The body of a New Jersey woman missing since New Year’s Eve was found near Sykesville Tuesday, according to Maryland State Police.

Erica L. Crippen, 27, of Mount Laurel, N.J., had been reported missing in January.

Her husband—Kyle J. Crosby, 28—was charged in her murder Jan. 13 after police pulled him over in New Jersey, where he was driving his wife’s red Ford Taurus that disappeared when she did.

Police used the GPS from the vehicle to locate Crippen’s remains, according to CBS.

Sifting through more than 8,600 coordinates recorded by the GPS, investigators determined that Crosby had spent a lengthy period of time along Old Frederick Road in Sykesville, where Crippen was discovered around 12:12 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17. Her body was about 85 feet from the road.

Although investigators had searched Maryland three times for Crippen, the weather made conditions difficult, according to the Carroll County Times. Investigators from Maryland State Police, Maryland Natural Resources Police, New Jersey State Police, Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office and the Mount Laurel Police Department participated in the three searches.

The body was located off Old Frederick Road under a pile of branches, Fox Philadelphia reported. The winter weather helped preserve Crippen’s body, which was bound with electrical wire, the TV station reported. Her face was reportedly duct taped.

Crosby’s mother was arrested this week and charged with hindering the investigation after police found she had deleted text messages exchanged with her son on New Year’s Eve.

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“Her family can now give Erica the proper burial that they have longed to provide,” Burlington County Prosecutor Robert Bernardi said at a press conference Wednesday. “Domestic violence is a terrible scourge on our society. The result in this case was the ultimate evil. Kyle Crosby took the life of his wife, the woman he pledged to love and honor. We will seek justice for Erica, but that will never erase the pain of her loss felt so strongly by her family.”

Police began investigating Crippen’s disappearance on Jan. 7 after officials went to the couple’s home to check on their child, who had been absent from school the week of Jan. 7, and Crosby told officers he had not seen his wife since Jan. 1.

During the course of the investigation, the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office in New Jersey enlisted Maryland State Police homicide detectives, who helped gather evidence, police reported.

Crippen’s remains have been taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for processing, according to the report.

Police said investigators are continuing to collect evidence.