By MES Dispatch staff
The Briefing
• A volunteer firefighter in Ansonia, Ohio, has been charged with aggravated murder and aggravated arson after prosecutors say he shot a woman and then set her house on fire.
• The fire broke out on Zumbrum Road in Darke County April 10, and firefighters discovered the victim’s body inside the burning home.
• Authorities allege 22-year-old Peyton Beam shot 50-year-old Ericka Kramer before dousing her with gasoline and igniting the blaze.
• Beam, who is a member of the Ansonia Volunteer Fire Department, responded to the fire under the guise of a firefighter before his arrest.
• A judge set his bond at $5 million cash or surety pending further court proceedings.
ANSONIA, OH — A volunteer firefighter has been charged with aggravated murder and aggravated arson after prosecutors allege he fatally shot a woman and then set her home on fire, authorities said.
The Darke County Prosecutor’s Office said the incident began April 10 when fire crews were dispatched to a residential fire on Zumbrum Road in rural Ansonia, where the structure was reported burning and later found engulfed in flames.
Firefighters located the body of 50-year-old Ericka Kramer inside the home during suppression operations; a forensic examination later ruled her death a homicide, investigators said.
Prosecutors alleged that 22-year-old Peyton Beam shot Kramer twice in both the head and back, then doused her body with gasoline and set the fire in an attempt to conceal the crime. Beam, a member of the Ansonia Volunteer Fire Department, responded as a firefighter to the blaze he is accused of starting.
Beam was arrested over the weekend and appeared in court Monday, where a judge set his bond at $5 million cash or surety. His attorney argued there is no direct evidence tying him to the slaying, and called testimony about his relationship to the victim a key part of the defense.
The investigation is ongoing, and Beam is awaiting further court hearings as charges proceed through the Darke County judicial system.