Authorities say a southern New Jersey woman deleted several text messages from her phone sent to her son on the morning police believe he killed his wife.
The text messages were described in a court document filed as 67-year-old Jo Crosby was charged with hindering and tampering with physical evidence.
Crosby's 28-year-old son, Kyle, is charged with murder in the death of his 26-year-old wife, Erica Crippen. She has been missing since New Year's Eve.
Crosby was released after posting $12,500 bail.
Burlington County Prosecutor's Office Det. Wayne Raynor says in the probable-cause statement that Crosby texted with her son around the time of Crippen's disappearance. He says she deleted those texts to conceal incriminating information.
The affidavit was obtained by The Philadelphia Inquirer and Burlington County Times through an open records request.
It states that at least 15 text messages between Crosby and his mother on New Year's Eve were retrieved during a forensic examination of their cellphones. Kyle Crosby also had an 18-minute phone conversation with his mother, the affidavit says.
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During a Jan. 9 interview with Mount Laurel police, Jo Crosby said she didn't recall getting a phone call from her son on Dec. 31, the affidavit says. She even showed her cellphone to police.
Jo Crosby eventually admitted deleting the messages when she learned authorities were coming to interview her, the affidavit says. She later said she recalled receiving a 3:31 a.m. call from her son Dec. 31, but not the actual conversation.
