Mum and son shot by her polygamist ex who wanted them in his family
Kelli Kramer craved a new life for herself and her child – but a former lover had other ideas
She was a young woman who had lost her way, but Kelli Kramer knew the importance of family and was turning her life around. She adored her nine-year-old son Aiden and he’d gone to stay with her parents while she struggled with her addictions. But by 2018, with Kelli, 31, back on track, he was living with her again in Burlington, Kentucky. She had a steady job at a local Starbucks and life was looking up.
Aiden was a straight-a student who was always smiling and made friends easily. He was close to his grandparents, but loved being back with his mum.
While Kelli was focusing on parenting, she was also looking for love as a member of Fetlife, a BDSM social media network where people can find like-minded partners.
It was there that she met Joshua Ward, 48, from Ohio. He and Kelli started dating, but it was an unusual relationship. He was married and a self-confessed polygamist, who hoped Kelli would move in and help him create a polyamorous family with his wife and another woman.
After dating for six months, they broke up in May 2017. Ward told people that Kelli had been seeing other men – and despite the fact that he dated other women, he didn’t like to think she did. He also spread rumours that she was sleeping with men for money – something she’d admitted doing previously.
Trying to put her past behind her, however, Kelli moved on and started dating David
Sullivan. But on 21 March
2018, David made a horrific discovery. He’d been messaging Kelli, who failed to reply, so he went to her apartment to check on her. It had been snowing heavily and, as she had been driving, he wanted to make sure she’d reached home safely. He found the door unlocked.
Killed in cold blood
On entering the flat, he saw both Kelli and
Aiden on the living room floor. There was blood, too. Both Kelli and her son were dead. They had suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head and torso.
Nine bullets had been fired. Kelli had been shot five times in the head and once in the leg, while Aiden had three bullets in his head and one in his torso. David frantically dialled 911.
The killings horrified the community – who would kill a mother and her young son in cold blood?
Investigators interviewed everyone close to Kelli and Aiden, including Ward, who claimed to have been reading at home at the time of the murders. During his interview, he admitted having tried to persuade Kelli to join him and his other partners in his polygamous family.
He said he had ended his relationship with Kelli after messages on her phone led him to believe she was being paid by men to sleep with them. He hadn’t heard from her since, but added he had been distressed by the news of her death.
Police had a lucky break when they got a tip-off from a Crime Stoppers USA phone line. The caller claimed Ward owned a gun and liked to practise shooting at a local farm.
Officers went to the farm to collect shell casings, which were forensically examined along with one found at the murder scene – they were a match. Ward was stopped while driving, and arrested.
The evidence started mounting up. Another witness came forward saying Ward had claimed Kelli was responsible for “destroying” him. The witness said Ward thought Kelli had ruined his life and his chances of having the polygamous family he craved. They also reported that Ward had warned them to remain quiet about what he’d said.
While he claimed he’d walked away from the relationship, it soon became clear that Ward had remained obsessed with Kelli and Aiden.
His car was seen at Kelli’s home on the night she and her son were killed, and he was spotted on CCTV at her workplace.
He was charged with two counts of capital murder. Following discussions with Kelli’s family, the possibility of the death sentence was taken off the table.
During Ward’s trial last year, the court heard testimony relating to Kelli’s history of “drugs and prostitution” – but her loved ones knew that her life choices did not mean that she or her son deserved to die. She had a big heart and was trying to be a great mum for Aiden.
Gone forever
His defence attorney said Ward had been “distraught” over his break-up with Kelli and was disappointed that she had turned to prostitution. He believed she had been conning him.
He testified that he’d met Kelli on the site for the fetish community and believed she had wanted the same sort of life that he did.
“I was looking to design a family unit where there were multiple women and I was the lead male in that relationship,” Ward told the court.
He said he hadn’t contacted Kelli after their split and was “devastated” on hearing that she and Aiden had been killed.
The lawyer said Ward had been upset about breaking up with Kelli, remained emotionally attached to her and her son, and would never have hurt them. He argued that Ward had been wrongly accused and, because of his alternative lifestyle, other suspects had been overlooked by the police. There was no physical evidence to implicate him in the crime and the killing could have been carried out as part of a “drug deal gone wrong”.
But the prosecutor insisted the motive for murder was jealousy and that Ward had killed because of a need to control the women in his life. According to a witness, Ward had described Kelli as a “monster” and said he could drive her to a field and kill her. He was stalking her after their separation and had been doing target practice in the lead-up to the killing.
The prosecution pointed out that the flat showed no evidence of having been forcibly entered and nothing had been stolen. They also asked why a drug dealer would kill a nine-year-old.
“This was not a drug deal gone bad; this was not a crime of opportunity. This was something more,” said the prosecutor.
Last September, Ward, by then 51, was found guilty of murdering Kelli and Aiden.
Her mother Marilyn said she and Kelli’s father John were pleased with the verdict. “Aiden didn’t get the chance to live his life,” she said. “We’re here to see if we could get justice. We did.” It had been a long, three-and-a-half-year journey to get there.
Two months later, Ward faced sentencing. In a statement, Kelli’s parents made it clear to the judge they wanted Ward in prison for the rest of his life.
“Ward, if you thought you would be forgiven today, that’s not going to happen,” they said. “You inflicted on Kelli and Aiden everyone’s greatest fear of being murdered. Your honour, Kelli and Aiden are gone forever. It is only fair, when he goes through that door, he’s gone forever.”
Ward was given two life sentences without the chance of parole, meaning he will never again be free.
Kelli’s parents are now raising funds for a memorial playground, to be named after their grandson.
Kelli was working hard for a better life. During his trial, it was pointed out none of the bullets Ward fired at Kelli and her son had missed their targets. The cruel killing had been committed by a man who was obsessed with controlling the women in his life.
He did target practice before the killing