Bio

John A. Kramer was born in 1881 in the United States. He was a native of Pennsylvania and later lived in Nevada, where he worked as a miner. By 1940, Kramer was living in or near Ely, a city in White Pine County, Nevada. He was about 61 years old at the time of the murder. 

Kramer claimed that he had spent years giving Jones clothes, gifts, and other presents. He also claimed that they had gone on many dates. However, Jones repeatedly rejected his marriage proposals. She married two other men during the years Kramer knew her, but she reportedly continued to see him.

Murder Story

On February 15, 1940, John A. Kramer and Frances Jones quarreled in Ely, White Pine County, Nevada. Kramer later claimed that he had been drinking and acted in a sudden angry impulse. During the argument, he shot Jones. Jones died from the shooting. Kramer was later convicted of her murder. The case was described as connected to Kramer’s long-running attachment to Jones and her repeated refusal to marry him.

After his conviction, Kramer was sentenced to death in Nevada. At the time, Nevada used the gas chamber as its execution method. Kramer was executed at Nevada State Prison in August 1942.