April 02, 2022
Gloucester County resident, Andrew Kramer, 31, was charged with first degree murder last week in the death of his ex-roommate, Melissa Malcolm, 38, after he allegedly bludgeoned her to death in her bed.
It was determined that Kramer had been living in the victim’s home on the six hundred block of Mount Laurel Road, Burlington County Township in New Jersey. According to reports, for reasons unknown, Kramer was asked to move out of the home at some point, which he did, before later returning to the property to allegedly murder Malcolm in her sleep. What spurred the fatal attack is unknown at this time, but police reports describe the suspect and victim as acquaintances and ex-roommates. Kramer is said to have met Malcolm through a relative.
Malcolm’s body was found bludgeoned in her bed at approximately 12:30pm on January 26th after police were alerted to perform a wellness check at the victim’s home when she neglected to show up to work.
Autopsy later revealed the victim's cause of death to be injuries to the head.
That same day, withdrawals from Malcolm's bank were recorded at convenience stores in nearby Evesham and Brooklawn, once at 2:15am and again at 4:00am. Evesham is around a twenty-minute drive from Mount Laurel Road and Brooklawn is around a half hour drive from Evesham.
Her vehicle, a silver 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee, was missing from her driveway and it was later discovered through CCTV recordings that Kramer was the one driving her vehicle and making the withdrawals along the way.
Police have asked members of the public to keep an eye out for the victim's vehicle which has New Jersey plates and the number: M73 HKY.
It is believed that after beating his ex-roommate to death in her bed, Andrew Kramer stole her car and credit cards, and drove around taking out cash from her accounts as he headed in the direction of Philadelphia.
He was later arrested for holding up a civilian at gunpoint after the man refused to give Kramer a ride to the Kensington neighbourhood. He did, however, offer Kramer an alternative option and said Kramer could stay in his garage.
The man, who has been identified as Cory Fiory, tricked Kramer into a garage on the 1500 block of Brandywine Street. He then locked the suspect inside and trapped him while he called the police at around 5:45am.
Fiory said “He asked me for a ride, he was like, can you give me a ride to Kensington, and I was like, ‘no, sorry’. He was so paranoid that people were chasing him, that the cops were around him, that he was surrounded that there were dogs...so I asked him to step into the shop. I was trying to convince him to hold out in the shop until it was dark out and he could leave and get away.”
Fiory admitted that he had no idea Kramer was responsible for the alleged murder of a woman in Burlington County and was just trying to stall so he could figure out what to do next.
"My main objective was just to get something between him and me and break that line of sight so that I could make a move and get away. As soon as he looked away, I just closed the middle door, ran to the front of the shop, opened that door and got out."
Kramer, who had been outwitted by the quick-thinking civilian, was soon apprehended by Philadelphia police officers, who found him threatening to commit suicide, with a loaded .25-caliber semi-automatic handgun under his chin.
It took over half an hour, however, police were eventually able to de-escalate the situation and arrest Andrew Kramer after a standoff. The suspect was arrested at around 6:30am and charged with weapons offenses, terroristic threats, and simple assault in Philadelphia.
Kramer is expected to be extradited to New Jersey to face trial and additional charges in connection with the death of Melisa Malcolm, including first degree murder, two counts of Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose and charges relating to the theft of Malcolm’s vehicle and the use of her credit cards.
He 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 he will face a detention hearing in Superior Court. It is unclear if Kramer has obtained an attorney.
It was later revealed that Kramer had been released from prison after serving less than his initial ten-year sentence for the home invasion of an elderly lady whom he previously robbed and left bound in the basement of her own home. He also stole and used the victim's credit card in this case.
Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina said: “I’d like to commend the individual whom the defendant confronted in Philadelphia, for his level-headed and resourceful response to this frightening encounter. 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.”
Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to contact the Mount Laurel Police Department on (856) 234-1414, ext. 1524. Alternatively, emails can be sent to tips@co.burlington.nj.us.
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