Husband of missing N.J. woman charged with murder

MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. -- The husband of a southern New Jersey woman missing since New Year's Eve has been charged with her murder, authorities announced Tuesday.

Kyle Crosby, 28, was arrested Monday evening after a traffic stop and a foot pursuit in Camden County, according to the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office. Authorities found items of "evidential value" in connection with his wife's disappearance in the vehicle's trunk, but didn't elaborate on what those were.

Crosby's wife, Erica Crippen, hasn't been seen since she posted a photo online just before 11 p.m. on New Year's Eve. Her body hasn't been found, and investigators were pursuing "additional leads with respect to her whereabouts," authorities said.

Crippen, 26, lived in Mount Laurel with Crosby, her 7-year-old daughter and the couple's infant daughter.

Police visited the residence for a wellness check on Jan. 7 after Crippen's daughter didn't report to school. Crosby signed a missing person report that day and said he had not seen his wife since Jan. 1.

Crippen's cousin Barbara Kellam told CBS Philly that she last spoke to her Dec. 30, when the missing woman went to a restaurant with Crosby in Cherry Hill. When family members went to her apartment, they found it in disarray, Kellam told the station.

When Crosby was arrested, he was driving Crippen's car, reports the station.

Crosby was also facing a charge of endangering the welfare of a child "due to the level of care he provided to the children in the absence of his wife," authorities said. That charge was filed on Saturday and allowed officers to detain him Monday evening.

Crosby was being held at the Burlington County Jail on $1 million bail and was due in Superior Court Tuesday afternoon. It's not known if he's retained an attorney.