After the beautiful model Christina Carlin-Kraft was found dead on her bed in her apartment, the police, though faced with difficulties, eventually managed to shed light on what had happened on the night she encountered a stranger on the street.
The Horrific Attack
Christina Carlin-Kraft grew up in South Jersey, New Jersey, USA. From a young age, she had an interest in fashion, and entertainment, and eventually became a model.
In 2003, Christina met her longtime boyfriend, Alex Ciccotelli. At the time of Christina’s passing, they had been together for 15 years and were engaged. Alex always supported Christina’s career.
Christina had appeared on the covers of several magazines, being regarded as a beautiful, ambitious model. After moving to New York to pursue her modeling career unsuccessfully, Christina and her fiancé decided to move to Ardmore, Pennsylvania. There, the couple lived in a luxury apartment.
On August 22, 2018, Alex called the police station. He said he was very worried because he couldn’t reach Christina for 24 hours. Their apartment was also locked. Authorities quickly arrived at the couple’s apartment and broke in.
Upon entering, the police found everything in disarray. Christina was found dead on the bed in the master bedroom. The victim was wrapped in clothes and a comforter, resembling a cocoon. Christina seemed to have been brutally beaten. The 36-year-old woman had facial fractures, a broken nose, and was strangled.
The Suspicious Theft
After discovering Christina’s death, the police went out to inform Alex, who was waiting in the hallway. Alex was extremely shocked and distressed. He was quickly removed from the suspect list as he was verified to be working in New York at the time of his fiancée’s death.
Alex said he made numerous calls to Christina early on August 22. When there was no response, he decided to check the surveillance camera system and noticed some unusual activity. He immediately contacted the police while driving back from New York.
Investigating Christina’s background, the police learned that she had been accused of misdemeanor assault in 2017. Christina had a physical altercation with a bar manager at a restaurant in Manhattan. The charges were eventually dropped.
On August 18, Christina reported to the police that she had been robbed. The woman said someone took some designer wallets, credit cards, and jewelry from her.
Christina recounted that she had visited a hotel with a bar in Center City, Philadelphia. The next morning, Christina woke up in a dazed state and believed she had been drugged. She couldn’t remember anything and was very worried about her safety.
The police obtained surveillance footage from Christina’s apartment complex and discovered some unusual details.
The Dangerous Man
The police obtained surveillance footage from the apartment complex where Christina lived. They determined that on the night of the robbery, she had been brought home around 3 a.m. At that time, Christina was unconscious in the back seat of a car.
The driver then entered Christina’s apartment. About 1.5 hours later, he returned to the car with stolen items and brought Christina into her apartment.
Along with releasing photos of the suspect taken from surveillance cameras, the police also checked Christina’s bank records and found that her credit card had been used at a convenience store.
The identity of the man was subsequently established. He was Andre Melton, a man with a criminal record who was considered highly dangerous. The police immediately obtained a warrant for Andre’s arrest for robbery. At the suspect’s residence, they found Christina’s stolen belongings, but he was not there.
The Mysterious Ride
Investigators continued to review the surveillance system of Christina’s apartment. The model was seen leaving the apartment complex on the night she was murdered. A few hours later, around 3:08 a.m., she returned with an unidentified man.
Christina’s apartment was on the second floor. The camera did not capture the image of the unknown man leaving the apartment, but the police only saw the sliding glass door of the apartment open around 5 a.m. Investigators believed the killer had jumped from her balcony. A shoe print was found near the place where the murderer was believed to have jumped down.
Reviewing surveillance footage of places Christina had visited, the police could track the victim’s movements. One clip showed her embracing the suspect. Eventually, they used a ride-sharing app together.
Authorities determined the suspect was not Andre Melton. However, images of both Andre and the murder suspect were still widely publicized in the media. The police did not know whether the two incidents were related.
On August 23, 2018, investigators received a call from Andre. He admitted to robbing Christina but claimed he did not commit the murder. The police were finally able to determine that the two men and the two incidents were separate.
The Early Morning Ride
Police began searching for clues from the victim’s last activities on the night of August 21 and the early morning of August 22, 2018. They found surveillance footage showing Christina and the suspect outside a pizza shop in downtown Philadelphia, and then getting into a car.
After tracing back, the police identified the driver of this car as Andrew Sanford. Andrew was a driver for a ride-sharing app. He confirmed that on the night of the murder, he drove Christina and a male companion from Philadelphia to her apartment in Ardmore.
Andrew stated that Christina waved him down instead of using the ride-sharing app. The model told him she was being harassed by some people on the street, and the man accompanying her intervened.
According to Andrew, Christina and the suspect appeared friendly and affectionate toward each other. The man was mostly silent during the trip while Christina seemed “happy.” Conversations were mostly initiated by Christina.
The Man with a Criminal History
When they arrived at Christina’s apartment complex, she didn’t have money to pay the driver. The man offered to pay $100 and asked him to park outside and wait for 10-15 minutes. They then exchanged phone numbers. However, 20 minutes later, the driver had to leave as the suspect didn’t get back in touch.
Around 4 a.m., Christina’s cousin received a call from her. He said Christina didn’t speak, but he could hear a man’s voice telling her not to call the police.
On August 26, police received a call from a man claiming to recognize the person in the surveillance footage released by the police. The witness revealed he had been roommates with the suspect at a psychiatric facility in Philadelphia.
After the murder case, the suspect was admitted to the psychiatric facility 72 hours after following a woman into a courthouse building and harassing her. He was registered under the name John Doe. The witness told the police that he had boasted about strangling a woman to death. “There’s nothing like choking somebody and feeling their last breath leave their body,” the man said.
Police eventually identified the true identity of this person. It was Jonathan Harris, a 30-year-old drug dealer. Jonathan had a long criminal record and had just been released from prison on July 15, just a few weeks before Christina’s murder, after serving time for an armed robbery.
Police immediately went to Jonathan’s home and talked to his sister. She said her brother had bought a bus ticket to Pittsburgh.
The Seductive Woman
On August 28, police immediately went to Jonathan’s house and spoke with his sister. She said her brother had bought a ticket to Pittsburgh. Authorities quickly set up a trap to catch Jonathan as soon as he set foot there. Upon arrest, Jonathan used a fake name to speak with the police.
Jonathan admitted to smoking marijuana, using cocaine, and drinking alcohol on the night of the murder. He said he saw Christina alone and approached her, appearing friendly. They then decided to go back to Christina’s apartment. The model at that time didn’t know that it was a decision that would cost her life.
Initially, Jonathan claimed they had consensual sex, drank alcohol, and used cocaine together but denied the murder. However, later, the suspect confessed to killing the model because of an argument. The reason was that Christina refused to pay for the estimated $1,200 worth of drugs because she believed that having sex was payment enough.
Jonathan claimed that during the argument, Christina hit him with a bottle of liquor. Things escalated from there. Jonathan punched the victim multiple times, causing her nose to break. When Christina tried to call 911, Jonathan choked her.
Life Sentence for the Murderer
However, detectives found no injuries to Jonathan’s ears at the time of arrest. Additionally, test results showed no cocaine or any drugs in the victim’s body, only a blood alcohol concentration of 0.25, three times the legal limit for driving in Pennsylvania.
Jonathan eventually admitted to lying and confessed to tying the victim to the bed so she couldn’t attack him and then choking her. “I was scared. I didn’t know what to do,” Jonathan recounted and admitted to wrapping the victim in a blanket, covering the body because he didn’t want to see her in that condition. “I knew she was badly hurt,” the man said.
Before leaving, Jonathan changed into some clothes at the victim’s home because his clothes were covered in blood. The suspect also admitted to jumping from the balcony to avoid surveillance cameras.
Jonathan Harris was charged with first-degree murder. His defense attorney argued that his client did not intend to kill but was under the influence of stimulants at the time.
“Jonathan did not form the intent to kill because he didn’t even know what he was doing. Everything was done in panic,” the lawyer said, arguing that Jonathan should only be convicted of third-degree murder.
However, based on various pieces of evidence and conflicting testimonies, the jury concluded that Jonathan committed the murder during the trial in May 2019. In addition to first-degree murder, Jonathan was also convicted of kidnapping, and possession of a weapon. This man was sentenced to life in prison for murder and an additional 22.5 to 45 years for other charges.
