Christopher Cramer, 50, of New Hampshire, was working with Advance Defense Systems of Kollsman when he reportedly fell from a third story window of the Sahara Makarim Hotel in Tabuk.
His employer told the family Cramer committed suicide. But his family and friends aren’t buying such claims. They believe he was killed.
“He called me three times that night and left me messages saying that he was in danger and to call the State Department,” Cramer’s friend and family attorney Noah Mandell told Fox News. “He was there, he was in danger, and I believe he was killed.”
“What is troublesome is the cover-up. The announcement by the company that it was a suicide before seeing all the evidence is strange,” Mandell said.
“I know he didn’t commit suicide. You don’t send out a text like that before jumping out of the window,” said Cramer’s sister Jennifer Kelly.
His nephew Chris Arsenault described him as a “happy guy,” who was “strong-willed” and who “loved his family.”
Arsenault told Fox News that when Cramer couldn’t reach Mandell, he texted another friend and asked for help.
“I’m at the Marakim tabuk hotel in Saudi. I think something bad is going to happen to me tonight. Please contact state dept ASAP. Bad things were said,” Cramer’s text reads.
The nephew found the text very unusual of Cramer, stressing that his rhetoric implied that he was in trouble.
After the family rejected the suicide claims, Advance Defense Systems of Kollsman told Fox News in a statement that it was working with local police and the State Department to figure out what happened.
“We are all deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Chris Cramer and are offering our continuous support and assistance to Chris’ family and his colleagues,” Clark Freise, a vice president with Kollsman, said in the statement. “Like the family, we are eager to learn more about his death and are in continuous contact with the U.S. Department of State to strongly encourage their assistance in obtaining the final report of the local police regarding the circumstances surrounding Chris’ passing. It is important to bring Chris home to his loved ones and we are working closely with the family to expedite the repatriation of Chris.”
The State Department released a statement on the death of the U.S. contractor.
“We can confirm that U.S. citizen Christopher J. Cramer died outside the Sahara Makarim Hotel in Tabuk on January 15,” reads the statement. “We express our deepest condolences to his family and friends. Officials from the U.S. Consulate General in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia are in contact with the family and are providing consular assistance. Out of respect for the privacy of those affected by this tragedy, we will not comment further. For questions regarding the investigation, we refer you to the Tabuk Police Department.”
Cramer’s family maintains that he did not commit suicide but hope for more answers.
“I feel like they [Tabuk police] are covering something up,” his sister said. “We just don’t want to see this go away and be swept under the rug."
