GREENVILLE — The man accused of killing his employer and then setting her home on fire appeared in court Friday morning.
Investigators said Peyton Beam murdered Ericka Kramer, set her home on fire, and then returned to the scene as a volunteer firefighter to help put the flames out.
News Center 7’s Taylor Robertson was in court as Beam’s attorneys fought to keep evidence out of the public eye.
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A hearing was held in Judge Travis Fliehman’s courtroom for the state and the defense to argue over what evidence in the case will be presented in front of jurors.
However, the state submitted a motion to close that hearing to the public on Wednesday.
Judge Fliehman said, “The court is going to grant the state’s motion, which has been joined by the defense.”
Kramer was a woman Beam worked for. Prosecutors said they believe he set her house on fire after killing her. Then returned as a firefighter to put out the fire he allegedly started.
In May, court documents showed that the defense filed a motion to suppress any statements Beam made to law enforcement following his arrest.
In July, there was a motion to suppress surveillance video and the search warrant issued for his home.
Today, it’s not clear what evidence attorneys were arguing to keep out of the jurors’ hands as media was asked to leave.
“There is likely to be evidence presented during this suppression hearing, which the court may subsequently suppress and if so, the publication or publicizing of that information at a suppression hearing could very well taint a pool of jurors or otherwise the defendant to have what likely would be argued as a lack of an impartial jury,” Judge Fliehman said.
He continued by saying that the only people allowed in Friday’s suppression hearing were Kramer’s daughter and mother as they are protected under Marcy’s Law.
“I’m not going to allow family members of the defendant to be present. They are not protected under Marcy’s Law, and so we’re going to proceed shortly,” Judge Fliehman said.
The judge will decide on what was presented later.
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