In Ohio, Peyton Beam is held on $5 million bond in the death of Ericka Kramer.

ANSONIA, Ohio — A volunteer firefighter is accused of killing a woman he had known for years, setting her rural Darke County home on fire and then responding with firefighters to the same burning property, authorities said.

Peyton W. Beam, 22, of rural Ansonia, is charged in the death of Ericka Michele Kramer, 50, a longtime Ansonia cheer coach whose body was found April 10 inside her burning home along Zumbrum Road. The case has shaken a small western Ohio village because prosecutors say the person accused of helping fight the fire was also the person who caused it. Beam has pleaded not guilty through the court process and remains presumed innocent.

The case began at 12:29 p.m. April 10, when the Darke County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call about a house fire northwest of Ansonia. Fire crews arrived to find the home engulfed in flames. During the firefighting effort, crews found a woman dead inside. Sheriff Mark Whittaker later said investigators confirmed Kramer had been in the home minutes before the fire. Her remains were taken to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office for forensic testing. Darke County Coroner Dr. Susan Brown ruled the manner of death a homicide. Whittaker said investigators were still working the case and keeping some details close. “We’re still actively investigating,” he said.

Prosecutors gave the court a sharper account at Beam’s first appearance. They said Kramer was shot twice in the back and twice in the head before her body was covered in what appeared to be gasoline. They said the house was then set on fire to cover up the killing. The prosecution said Beam later responded as a firefighter and was one of the first people to reach the property. In court, the prosecution said Beam acted “under the guise of being a firefighter.” A local report said Sheriff Whittaker described Beam as arriving on one of the first Ansonia fire engines and making initial entry into the house with a hose alongside another firefighter. Authorities have not publicly released a motive.

Beam and Kramer were not strangers, according to statements made in court. Defense attorney John H. Rion said Beam had worked for Kramer for about seven years and saw her as a second mother. Rion argued that his client had no criminal record and said the defense wanted to review physical proof, including ballistic evidence. “We’d be very interested in ballistics in this case, very interested in any evidence other than inference,” Rion said. Prosecutors said the relationship made the allegations more disturbing, while the defense said the same history made the accusations hard to accept. Beam appeared by video at early hearings and did not make a lengthy statement.

Kramer was known in Ansonia beyond the fire scene and the court file. The Ansonia Athletic Department identified her as the varsity cheerleading head coach and said she would be deeply missed. Her obituary said she was born Jan. 15, 1976, in Union City, Indiana, and died April 10 at her residence in Ansonia. It described her as warm, generous and devoted to her daughter, Abigail. Kramer had also lost her husband, David W. Kramer, in 2022. Family members and school community members remembered her as a coach who encouraged young people and left a mark on students and athletes in a village where school sports often serve as a center of community life.

Beam was first arrested April 12 by Darke County detectives after what authorities described as a three-day, multidisciplinary investigation involving sheriff’s deputies, the county coroner’s investigator and the Ohio State Fire Marshal’s Office. He was initially held on aggravated murder and aggravated arson charges. A judge set bond at $5 million, cash or surety, after prosecutors requested a much higher amount and the defense asked for release without bond. Judge Travis Fliehman later kept the same bond after new charges were added. Those additional counts include third-degree tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse.

The court hearings have also placed the fire department in an unwanted spotlight. Beam was described as a volunteer firefighter and certified firefighter with the Ansonia department. The department said details were limited because the investigation remained open and said its thoughts were with the victim’s family. Prosecutors have not said whether any firefighters knew Beam was a suspect during the first response. The record made public so far shows the first emergency call was treated as a fire call, and the homicide investigation developed after Kramer’s body was found inside the home.

The house itself sat at 2723 Zumbrum Road, in a rural stretch outside the village. Reports from the scene described heavy fire and a broad emergency response that included Ansonia fire and rescue crews and other agencies. Investigators said Kramer was believed to be the resident of the home based on a high degree of probability before later identification work confirmed the case centered on her death. Authorities have not publicly detailed what evidence led them to Beam, how long they believe he was at the property before the 911 call, or whether a firearm has been recovered.

The next phase will move through Darke County Common Pleas Court, where prosecutors must support the charges with evidence and the defense can challenge the state’s case. Rion has already signaled that the defense will focus on physical evidence and the prosecution’s theory of what happened before the fire call. Beam remains held on $5 million bond while the investigation and court process continue. No trial date has been publicly announced.

Beam remains charged in Kramer’s death, and investigators have not publicly released a motive. The next major step is expected in court, where the added evidence charges and any bond arguments will shape the case before trial.

Author note: Last updated May 6, 2026.