A witness who reported the grisly torture and murder of a Potter County man more than four years ago is now a suspect in the case.
A month after the last of three suspects initially charged in the death of Joshua Ramos, 19, of Galeton, was sentenced for his role in the killing, Pennsylvania State Police at Coudersport have charged Varley William Fuller, also of Galeton, with multiple felonies for his alleged role in the crime.
Fuller, 65, was arrested Jan. 10 in the City of Hornell with the assistance of the Hornell Police Department. He waived extradition proceedings and has been returned to Pennsylvania.
Fuller was arraigned Monday night in Magisterial District Court in Galeton on charges of criminal conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, first-degree murder, second-degree murder, third-degree murder, kidnapping and tampering with physical evidence. He was committed to the Potter County Jail without bail.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Jan. 27 in front of District Justice Chris Kalacinski.
First-degree murder carries a possible punishment of the death penalty or life in prison in Pennsylvania, according to Potter County District Attorney Andy Watson.
What happened to Joshua Ramos?
In July 2020, a witness who was not publicly named at that time reported Ramos’ death to state police and led them to the area where his body was left. He said he was present at the time of the attack.
As a result of the investigation, state police charged Galeton residents Felicia Kay Cary, Krysten Lauren Crosby and Kyle Michael Nathan Moore with criminal conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, first-degree murder, second-degree murder, third-degree murder, kidnapping and tampering with physical evidence.
The original criminal complaint against Cary, Crosby and Moore alleged they all attacked Ramos in the kitchen of the apartment where most of them lived.
Joshua Ramos, originally from New Jersey, was living in Galeton, Pennsylvania when he went missing in 2020. Three people were charged with his murder after his decomposed body was later found in rural Potter County.
The beating went on for about an hour before Moore, Cary and Crosby humiliated Ramos by forcing him to lick his own blood off the floor and off the shoes of the others, according to the criminal complaint.
Testimony at a later hearing indicated the trio assaulted Ramos because he had allegedly shoved Crosby prior to the attack.
The suspects then took Ramos on a road trip, eventually ending up on Whitman Road in Harrison Valley, where they took Ramos into the woods and hanged him from a tree with a 12-foot pair of jumper cables, the criminal complaint stated.
It was there, months later, that a state police cadaver dog located the decomposed body covered with a gray blanket and buried underneath multiple rocks, according to the complaint.
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How a witness became a murder suspect
At the time of Ramos’ murder, Fuller lived at 16 Clinton St. in Galeton Borough, along with the victim, Cary, Crosby and four other people, according to the criminal complaint filed against him.
Fuller admitted to placing his arm or hand on Ramos’ throat during the attack and telling him not to touch Crosby, who was Ramos’ girlfriend at the time.
Fuller said he tried at one point to get the others to stop the assault and when they didn’t, he said he videotaped a portion of the attack, although state police said there was no evidence to support that claim.
Fuller also admitted using his minivan to take the victim and the others to the area where Ramos was eventually killed, and did not report the crime when he was stopped by Westfield police for an equipment violation.
Fuller also concealed evidence after Ramos’ murder by selling his minivan for scrap to Troups Creek Auto Parts in Troupsburg, New York, the criminal complaint stated.
READ THE FULL CRIMINAL COMPLAINT HERE:
What happened to the other suspects in the death of Joshua Ramos?
The three original suspects in the torture and murder of Ramos accepted plea agreements before their cases went to trial, avoiding a possible death sentence.
All three pleaded guilty in Potter County Court to conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and kidnapping, and Crosby additionally pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence.
On Aug. 29, 2024, Crosby was sentenced to a minimum of 31 and a maximum of 62 years in state prison. On Nov. 18, Cary was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison, and on Dec. 16, Potter County Judge Stephen Minor sentenced Moore to 22 to 44 years incarceration.
Moore was given a lighter sentence than the others because he cooperated with law enforcement against his codefendants, Watson said.
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This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Potter County man fourth suspect charged in murder of Josh Ramos