MANTUA MAN CHARGED WITH AUTO THEFT AND THEFT OF DEBIT CARD NOW CHARGED WITH MURDER IN THE DEATH OF FORMER GIRLFRIEND
" Andrew Kramer Has Been Charged With First Degree Murder In The Beating Death Of Melissa Malcolm Who He Had Previously Lived With."
January 31, 2022 By Art Fletcher Reporting For: Englebrook Independent News,
MOUNT LAUREL, NJ.- On Friday, January 28, 2022 Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina and Mount Laurel Township Police Chief Stephen Riedener announced that the 31-Year Old man Charged Thursday with stealing the vehicle and debit card of a Mount Laurel woman found Fatally Bludgeoned in her home Wednesday has been Charged with her Death.
Andrew Kramer, of Mantua, was Charged Thursday Night with First Degree Murder and Two Counts of Third and Fourth Degree Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose. Mr. Kramer is presently in custody in Philadelphia on Weapons Offenses and Charges of Simple Assault and making Terroristic Threats. The Prosecutor’s Office will seek to Extradite him to New Jersey, where Mr. Kramer will face a Inevitable Detention Hearing in Burlington County Superior Court.
Mr. Kramer had recently been residing with the victim, Melissa Malcolm, 38, in her home in the 600 block of Mount Laurel Road, but moved out at her request. Ms. Malcolm was found Deceased in her bed on the afternoon of Wednesday, January 26, 2022 after Members of The Mount Laurel Police Department made entry into the residence to conduct a wellness check when she failed to show up for work.
An subsequent autopsy performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood determined that Cause of Ms. Malcolm was Blunt Force Trauma to the Head and the Manner of Death to be Homicide.
The investigation further revealed that Mr. Kramer fled in Ms. Malcolm’s 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee after killing her. Kramer faces additional Charges of Motor Vehicle Theft and using Ms. Malcolm’s Debit Card in the early morning hours of Wednesday, January 26, 2022, to withdraw cash from machines at convenience stores in Marlton and Brooklawn, New Jersey, where he was captured on a surveillance recording operating her vehicle and making a transaction.
Mr. Kramer was taken into custody later that day, after Members of The Philadelphia Police Department responded to a business in the 1500 block of Brandywine Street on a report of a Man with a Gun at approximately 5:45 p.m. Upon arrival, Police Officers were told by the caller that he was able to lock the man in a garage after being Threatened at Gunpoint for refusing to provide a ride when he was first approached. Philadelphia police officers entered the business and found Kramer holding the Gun under his chin.
After approximately 30 minutes of talking with Kramer, the officers were able to convince him to put down his loaded .25-Caliber Semi-Automatic Handgun.
“I’d like to commend the individual whom the defendant confronted in Philadelphia, for his level-headed and resourceful response to this frightening encounter,” Burlington County Prosecutor Coffina said. “I’d like to equally acknowledge the excellent work by the Philadelphia Police Department in their response to the scene and their successful de-escalation of the situation that ensured the defendant did not harm any of the responding officers or himself.”
" The Rules Of The Court Require Us To Include A Statement, Which States: The Charges Outlined In This Publication Are Merely Accusations And The Defendant And Or Defendants Are Presumed Innocent Unless And Until Proven Guilty Beyond Reasonable Doubt."
FILED UNDER JANUARY 31, 2022: LAW, BURLINGTON: