Family of Mt. Laurel Woman, Presumed Murdered, Hoping To Locate Her Body For Burial
By Cherri Gregg
MT. LAUREL, N.J. (CBS) -- The relatives of a Mount Laurel, NJ woman who went missing just before the new year are desperately seeking closure. The mother of two is presumed dead and her husband has been charged with her murder.
Now, the family says its only desire is to "bring Erica home."
Erica Crippen Crosby would have turned 27 years old on Sunday. But two months ago she disappeared, and her husband of two years, Kyle Crosby, stands charged with her murder. Since then, the woman's body is nowhere to be found.
"We've searched, we've prayed. That's all we can really do," says Ashlee Sanders, a cousin of the presumed murder victim. Sanders, who maintains the Facebook page "Team Bring Erica Back Home," says family and friends run social media campaigns, a Go Fund Me page, and have organized a half-dozen searches.
"(The searches) are not done as often as they were in the beginning," Sanders notes, in part because of fear. "I'm afraid of what I would find if I would come across anything," she admits.
But, she adds, they're not giving up:
"We want Erica back. We're wanting closure."
The family has not yet held a memorial service. Instead they hold vigils and parties, such as the one for her birthday.
"We bought a cake, sang happy birthday, just celebrating Erica..." Sanders says.
A spokesperson for the Burlington County prosecutor's office wrote the following in response to an inquiry about the status of Crosby's case: "Kyle Crosby is charged with murder and endangering the welfare of a child. The status is that the case continues to be very actively investigated. I cannot discuss with you whether any communication has taken place with the defendant."
Kyle Crosby remains jailed in lieu of $1.2 million bail.
