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Police: Model slain in Ardmore had no recollection of night out before burglary

Christina Carlin-Kraft said she had no memory of the night before her apartment was burglarized. Days later, she was found dead in the same apartment.

On Aug. 17, Christina Carlin-Kraft took a Lyft into Philadelphia for a night out at a Center City hotel.

She woke up in her Main Line apartment the next morning, her memory hazy and her belongings raided, according to statements she gave to police in Lower Merion. Four days later, she was found strangled in that same apartment.

>>READ MORE: Slain Ardmore model's father says she was the 'brightest light that ever lived'

As police continue their search for her killer, paperwork filed in Montgomery County sheds new light on how the model encountered the Southwest Philadelphia man being sought for the burglary.

In an arrest warrant filed Aug. 21, Lower Merion police submitted multiple criminal charges against Andre Melton, 31, including burglary, criminal trespass, and receiving stolen property.

That warrant describes Carlin-Kraft's fragmented account of the night before the burglary, as told to detectives.

She told them she had taken the ride-share to the Sofitel hotel in Center City on Aug. 17. The 36-year-old's final memory of the evening, she told police, was ordering an espresso martini at the hotel's bar. After that, she remembered nothing.

She told police she woke up the next morning in her Ardmore apartment and "had no recollection of what occurred." She was wearing the same clothes as the night before and felt "extremely sick," according to the warrant.

Then she noticed several personal items missing, including purses, jewelry, and her credit cards. She told police that she "did not give anyone permission to enter her residence or permission to take her property."

Surveillance footage from her apartment building shows Carlin-Kraft returning to her second-floor apartment at Cambridge Square, 120 Sibley Ave., early on Aug. 18 with a man, according to the warrant. She seemed unsteady on her feet, and he supported her as she walked.

At one point, Carlin-Kraft fell, and the man picked her up from behind and helped her to an elevator. Surveillance shows the man later coming back down on the elevator, carrying a box police believed contained Carlin-Kraft's belongings.

A major break in the case came when police checked Carlin-Kraft's credit-card statements and saw that her Wells Fargo card had been used just before 3 a.m. on Aug. 18 at a Wawa in Glenolden, Delaware County. The card was also used at a Royal Farms in the same town on Aug. 19.

Surveillance footage from the Royal Farms showed two males using the card, one of whom matched the physical appearance of the man seen walking with Carlin-Kraft into her apartment. It was unclear who the other male was.

Investigators from Lower Merion took both sets of surveillance footage and showed them to a "trusted law enforcement source," who identified the man as Melton.

Detectives served the warrant on Aug. 22 at Melton's address on the 6500 block of Theodore Street in the Elmwood section of Southwest Philadelphia. There, they recovered the items that Carlin-Kraft had reported stolen days earlier, including designer purses, jewelry, and a Gucci belt, according to a law-enforcement source. Two other people at the home, a man and woman, were arrested and charged with narcotics possession, the source said.

Melton has only been charged in the burglary of Carlin-Kraft's apartment, and it was unclear Tuesday whether the burglary was tied to her slaying.

Police have said they are seeking a second, unidentified man who entered Carlin-Kraft's apartment building with her early on Aug. 22. Surveillance footage shows the two walking together into the building. The two had met in Philadelphia, near Broad and Locust Streets, and had taken a ride-share back to Carlin-Kraft's apartment, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office. Officials would not disclose which ride-share service was used.

Later that day, about 9:15 p.m., investigators found Carlin-Kraft's body in her bedroom during a wellness check.

Surveillance footage, however, does not show the man leaving the building. Investigators believe he may have left by jumping over the balcony connected to her apartment.

Anyone with information on either suspect was asked to call Montgomery County detectives at 610-278-3368 or Lower Merion police at 610-649-1000.