Suspect charged with murder in homicide investigation

PARSONSBURG, Md. – Maryland State Police have confirmed that one woman is dead and a suspect is in custody. The incident is being investigated as a homicide.

Just before 9 pm Thursday night, Maryland State Police responded to a 911 call reporting an assault. Troopers from the Salisbury Barrack arrived at a home on the 32,000 block of Longridge Road in Parsonsburg.

Troopers searched the property and found the body of a woman partially submerged in a shallow grave behind the home. On scene, they made contact with 45-year-old Jonah Brook Cramer, who they identified as the suspect in the apparent murder.

The identity of the victim, along with cause and manner of death, have not been released pending autopsy results.

Police say that a motive in the killing has not yet been identified.

Jonah Brook Carter has been charged with first- and second-degree murder, as well as first- and second-degree assault. He is being held at the Wicomico County Detention Center without bond.

Residents were shocked by the news. Tony Brown, who lives right down the road, said he’s never seen anything like this before: “Craziness. It’s weird…it’s something that you don’t normally see. A bunch of forensic and cop cars. It’s really weird.”

Brown said he regularly passes by the location and has never seen anything out of the ordinary: “I mean it’s usually a quiet place. Everybody around here, they see each other, wave, and that’s about it.”

Hearing about an incident like this can be cause for concern for some, like Lola Kirk, a local who says she’s always cautious: “I’m always observant of my surroundings. Even in the nicest places, sometimes the scariest things can happen. But it does make it a little scarier knowing like, ‘Well here’s just another place that we feel unsafe.'”