A New York couple have been charged with the murder of an ex-Marine after they purchased cell phones, an axe, an angle grinder and giant galvanized steel drums as part of the sordid scheme.
Jamie and Nicholas Orsini, of Beacon, are accused of burning the body of Steven Kraft, 34 – who was Jamie’s ex-husband and the father of her two daughters – after killing him on April 28, 2020, according to court documents.
They were both charged with one count of carjacking causing death and one count of conspiracy, three years after the Marine disappeared.
New York State Police (NYPD) investigator Joseph Merla accused them of “killing Kraft and taking his car” before “finally disposing of his body – which still hasn’t was found – by burning it”.
Jamie and Nicholas Orsini (pictured), of Beacon, are accused of burning the body of Steven Kraft, 34 – who was Jamie’s ex-husband and the father of her two daughters – after killing him on 28 April 2020, according to court documents
Surveillance footage from the gas station showed Jamie wearing a blue bandana over his face, a Levi’s stadium baseball cap and a green Jets sweatshirt with the hood up
He said GPS data from their phones and surveillance video show they traveled in a GMC Envoy from their home on West Church Street in Beacon, New York, to a Home Depot in Fishkill on April 26.
In the first stage of what US attorney Damian Williams described as a “sophisticated” scheme, Jamie allegedly paid the store cash for a 10 x 100ft tarp of paint, duct tape and a Tyvek suit and boots.
“Just over three years ago, Nicholas and Jamie Orsini allegedly plotted and killed Jamie’s ex-husband, Steven Kraft,” Williams said in a statement.
“Their alleged scheme was sophisticated – it involved cell phones, the theft and dumping of Kraft’s car and ultimately the disposal of Kraft’s body.”
The next day, they went to a Walmart in the same town, where Nicholas bought a “burning phone”.
Two days later, Kraft picked up his two daughters from the Orsinis before taking them to Sonic’s in Newburgh.
The Orsinis reportedly followed him to the restaurant and activated their burner phone before heading home.
Kraft returned home around 7 p.m. to drop off his daughters, and he died that evening.
It is not known what the cause of his death was and he was considered missing for three years before charges were brought against the Orsini.
On April 28, Nicholas allegedly drove Kraft’s Toyota Camry to Newburgh and abandoned it at Third Street and Carpenter Avenue, before walking more than a mile to the Sunoco gas station, where prosecutors say he got rid of one of Kraft’s phones.
He used Burner’s phone to call a taxi home, according to the affidavit.
Surveillance footage from the gas station shows a man wearing a blue bandana over his face, a Levi’s stadium baseball cap and a green Jets sweatshirt with the hood that matches an investigator found Orsini carrying on his network account social.
Steven Kraft’s body is still missing and he was considered missing for three years before charges were brought against the Orsini.
On May 2, Nicholas reportedly returned to Home Depot and purchased ‘two 31-gallon round galvanized steel trash cans, a coarse stainless steel rod, an angle grinder with burr wheel, 13 five metal discs, three 32-ounce bottles of odorless charcoal, lighter fluid, two charcoal grates, an ax and a flame lighter.
According to the affidavit, he bought 16 bundles of firewood the next day.
The couple reportedly googled ‘how to view your location history in google maps’ and ‘is fireproof galvanized steel’.
Kraft’s father Dean told the Poughkeepsie Journal he was “just flabbergasted” to hear about the alleged plot against his son, who was an Ulster County Navy veteran.
“I couldn’t believe two people could have so much hate for one other person.
It’s like two or three horror movies combined into one,” he said.
“In the days following the murder, the Orsinis continued the cover-up, traveling extensively between Beacon and upstate New York, eventually disposing of Kraft’s body – which has yet to be found – in the burning one,” Merla wrote.
