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Background: News footage of the house fire in Ansonia, Ohio, where Ericka Kramer was found dead on April 10 (WHIO). Inset (left): Peyton Beam (Darke County Sheriff”s Office). Inset (right): Ericka Kramer (Facebook).
An Ohio volunteer firefighter is facing charges after allegedly murdering a woman he worked for and attempting to conceal the crime by setting her home on fire.
Peyton Beam, 22, was taken into custody on Sunday on charges of aggravated murder, following the discovery of 50-year-old Ericka Kramer’s body in her Ansonia, Ohio home. The Darke County Sheriff’s Office reported that the Ansonia Fire Department responded to a house fire on April 10 at 12:29 p.m. Upon arrival, they found the residence engulfed in flames, and Kramer was found dead inside. The medical examiner has classified her death as a homicide.
Beam, one of the firefighters who responded to the blaze, is alleged to have started the fire himself after fatally shooting Kramer, according to reports from WHIO, a local CBS affiliate. Prosecutors presented this information during a court hearing.
In Beam’s initial court appearance on Monday, prosecutors revealed that he had been performing farm work at Kramer’s property since his teenage years. They accused him of “executing” Kramer on April 10, stating in court that she was shot twice in the back and twice in the head.
The prosecution also alleged that Beam poured gasoline over Kramer’s body before setting the house ablaze. In a further twist, Beam returned to the scene as part of the Ansonia Fire Department’s response team, actively participating in efforts to extinguish the fire. Prosecutors noted that Beam “was one of the first people to get to the property” as it burned.
Beam shook his head as he attended the proceedings via video call. His defense attorney told the court that Beam considered Kramer a “second mother,” according to WHIO’s reporting. He added that the defense “would be very interested in ballistics in this case, very interested in any evidence other than inference.”
Kramer, who is survived by a daughter and stepchildren and lost her husband in 2022, was a beloved cheerleading coach for Ansonia Public Schools.
Beam was charged with aggravated murder and aggravated arson. During his court appearance on Monday, a judge set his bond at $5 million, cash or surety. He would have to post 10% cash, or $500,000, to be granted release. He is currently still in custody at the Darke County Jail. His next court date was not available.