Slain S. Jersey woman's body is found in rural Md.

FOR WEEKS, Kyle Crosby, 28, has sat in a Burlington County Jail cell, accused of killing his wife.

As the Mount Laurel man stewed in prison, chained by a hefty $1 million bail, investigators searched for the body of Erica Crippen, last seen alive on New Year's Eve.

On Tuesday, that search ended in a secluded, tree-shaded patch of rural Maryland.

"Her family can now give Erica the proper burial that they have longed to provide," said Burlington County Prosecutor Robert Bernardi, who promised to "seek justice for Erica."

Crippen's body was found covered in branches and wrapped in a fleece blanket in Sykesville, a tiny town about 30 miles from Baltimore, Bernardi said yesterday.

The mother of two had been bound at her hands and feet with an electrical cord that also had been wrapped around her neck, Bernardi said. Her mouth and nose had been covered in duct tape.

The cause of her death is under investigation, pending results of an autopsy performed yesterday by the Baltimore medical examiner.

Investigators found the woman's remains through a GPS unit in Crosby's car that he had used to locate "more than 8,600 coordinates," including several destinations in Carroll County, Md., Bernardi said.

Investigators got a warrant for the car after Crosby was taken into custody Jan. 12 on two counts of child endangerment - police cited the "poor level of care" he provided to his children in their mother's absence.

The children in question are a 3-month-old daughter and Crippen's 7-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.

After Crosby's arrest, detectives found items in his vehicle's trunk with "evidential value" in Crippen's disappearance, police said. The nature of those items hasn't been disclosed.

Crosby was charged with murder the next day.

On Monday, the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office charged Crosby's mother, Jo Crosby, with hindering apprehension and tampering with physical evidence by destroying records.

She was arrested at her home in Sicklerville and later posted 10 percent of her $12,500 bail, according to police.

Investigators have declined to elaborate on how Crosby's mother was involved in the case.

Joel Bewley, a spokesman for Bernardi's office, said last night that the discovery of Crippen's body the day after Jo Crosby's arrest was "coincidental."

The detectives found the body only after finishing their analysis of the GPS, Bewley said.