New Jersey murder suspect accused of killing woman in her bed caught after quick-thinking man traps him in garage

A suspect in a New Jersey murder was apprehended in Pennsylvania after a man he pulled a gun on after asking for a ride managed to outsmart him.

On Jan. 26, Melissa Malcolm, 38, failed to show up for work and police conducted a wellness check at her Mount Laurel home around 12:30 p.m., WPVI-TV reported.

Officers discovered Malcolm dead in her bed from apparent blunt force trauma to the head.

An investigation showed money was withdrawn from her bank card two times earlier that morning, authorities said.

Investigators identified 31-year-old Andrew Kramer of Mantua as a person of interest in the case and claim he was spotted in the victim's silver 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Kramer reportedly knew the victim through a relative.

Around 5:40 the evening Malcolm’s body was found, Kramer approached Cole Fiory in Philadelphia and asked for a ride. When Fiory turned him down, Kramer allegedly pulled a gun on him.

“He was so paranoid that people were chasing him, that the cops were all around him, surrounding him, that there were dogs and everything, so I asked him to step into the shop” until the heat was off and “he could leave and get away," Fiory told WPVI-TV.

“My main objective was just to get something between him and me, break that line of sight, so I could make a move and get away,” Fiory, who did not know at the time why Kramer feared law enforcement, said of his plan to lock him in the garage.

“As soon as he looked away, I just closed the door, ran to the front of the shop, opened that door, and got out," Fiory said.

Philadelphia police responded to the garage and took Kramer into custody after a 30-minute standoff during which he threatened to shoot himself.

Kramer faces multiple charges in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.