An Atlantic County native and model was found strangled in her Lower Merion apartment this week.
Christina Carlin Kraft, 36, was found dead inside the bedroom of her Sibley Avenue home in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, at about 9:15 Wednesday night after police responded to a call to check on her, according to Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele and Lower Merion Township Police Superintendent Michael McGrath.
An autopsy determined her cause of death was ligature strangulation. It has been ruled a homicide.
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Kraft grew up in Absecon and later attended Mainland Regional High School, where she graduated in 2000.
"Such a great laugh and a kind person," a childhood friend who asked not to be identified told BreakingAC. "Super funny, too."
Kraft's father still lives in Atlantic County. He could not be reached for comment.
"I've done runway shows, print work, commercials for jewelry and evening gowns, and I did a tasteful photo shoot for Playboy that was beyond Hollywood glamour!" she wrote on her Model Mayhem profile.
"I'm willing to travel and I love to meet new exciting people with high energy and a kind heart," she continued. "I look forward to working with you and hope to make this a great experience!"
A longtime friend of the victim
told Philly.com that Kraft had been living in the apartment for the better part of a year.
The unit is owned by Kraft's boyfriend, a Wall Street banker who grew up in nearby Wynnewood, the unnamed friend
told the news outlet. The couple had been dating for about nine years, after having met while Carlin-Kraft worked as a waitress at the Borgata in Atlantic City.
There does not appear to be any danger for residents in the area where Kraft was killed, authorities said. No suspects have been named.
Anyone with information is asked to call Merion police at 610-649-1000 or the Montgomery County Detective Bureau at 610-278-3368.
A funeral Mass for Christina Craft will begin at 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. James Church, 6415 Atlantic Ave., Ventnor. A closed-casket visitation will begin at 9:30 a.m.
