Man Sentenced in Wife's Murder; Charges Against Gloucester Township Woman Dropped

Charges have been dropped against a Gloucester Township woman whose son was sentenced to 31 years in state prison in the 2014 murder of his wife, Burlington County Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi said on Thursday.

Kyle J. Crosby, 29, of Mount Laurel, previously pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter and hindering apprehension.

He was sentenced to 28 years in state prison for aggravated manslaughter and three years for hindering apprehension. The terms will run consecutively.

He must serve 85 percent of the sentence for the homicide charge before becoming eligible for parole.

Charges of hindering apprehension and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence against his mother, 68-year-old Jo Crosby of the Sicklerville section of Gloucester Township, have been dropped as part of the plea deal.

Crosby admitted that he choked 26-year-old Erica Crippen inside their Mount Laurel home on Dec. 31, 2014, and later transported her body to Maryland.

“Kyle Crosby took a vow to love and honor Erica Crippen. Instead, he chose to end her life and dump her body in a Maryland field,” Bernardi said. “There is no greater act of evil that could be shown toward someone you pledged to protect. His attempts to conceal this gruesome act were calculated and extensive. I am saddened by the grief that this heart wrenching crime has forever created within those who loved Erica. I am thankful for the detectives and prosecutors whose skill and determination to seek justice for all victims of crime uncovered the evidence that exposed Kyle Crosby as the killer, and enabled us to remove him from society and put him in prison for the next three decades.”

Crosby and Crippen lived together in Mount Laurel with two children, a 7-year-old daughter from a previous relationship, and their 3-month-old daughter.

On Jan. 7, 2015, police visited their home to conduct a wellness check after the 7-year-old failed to attend school that week.

Crosby signed a missing person report that day indicating he had not seen his wife since Jan. 1.

After further investigation, Crosby was charged with endangering the welfare of a child due to the level of care he provided to the children in the absence of his wife, on Jan. 10.

That charge led police to stop and arrest Crosby while he was driving his missing wife’s car in Brooklawn on Jan. 12.

Crippen’s body was found in a Maryland field in March.

Crosby traveled to Maryland sometime between Dec. 31, 2014, and Jan. 12, 2015, to deposit the body there.

Jo Crosby was charged because investigators believe she provided significant assistance to her son as he allegedly attempted to conceal Crippen’s death.

The attached images of Kyle Crosby and Jo Crosby were provided by the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office