Sanctuary

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Rohnda smith sits in the office at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church,
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leaning her head on her hand with her elbow on
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the desk. The computer screen casts a soft blue light
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in the quiet room, shining in her eyes as she
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scrolls through yet another dating profile. She exhales a little
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louder than she means to. She thinks about her last relationship.
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He lived about an hour away. At first, the drive
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didn't seem too bad, but over time it felt longer
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their conversations faded. In the end, they both agreed the
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distance wouldn't work. The breakup was mutual and clean, but
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still disappointing. She clicks to the next profile. There was
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a time when rejection like that would have overwhelmed her.
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Even small setbacks felt like proof that something was wrong
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with her. Those were the years when depression crept in
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and stayed too long. Hospitals felt more familiar than home.
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She didn't trust herself to be alone with her thoughts.
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But that was before she found the church. Rondo leans
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back and lets herself smile. She joined the church a
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couple of years ago not to find faith, but because
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she needed structure. She needed a place to go, something steady.
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Over time, the congregation got to know her and accepted her.
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With Pastor Shreeve's support, she started to rebuild her life
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slowly and carefully. Now she has a routine, She has friends,
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people who count on her and who let her count
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on them. That balance means more to her than anything
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she ever expected. She thinks about her plans for tonight.
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She's having dinner with Greg, a man she met in
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her bipolar support group. He might be someone who understands
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the hard parts without her having to explain. He might
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be someone who truly gets her. She reaches for the
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mouse to look at the next profile. Suddenly she hears
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a sound that doesn't belong in the quiet building. Rnda
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sits up and turns. She gasps, barely having time to
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raise her hand. Then everything goes dark. Welcome to Sword
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and Scale Nightmares, True Crime for Bedtime or Nightmare Beginnings Now.
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Judy Zelner pulls into the church parking lot just after noon,
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gravel crunching under her tires. When she gets out, the
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cold winter air stings her nose and makes it hard
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to breathe. She notices a car she doesn't recognize, so
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she pulls her coat tighter and hurries to the door.
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Judy fumbles for her keys in her heavy coat, but
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finally finds them. When she puts the key in the lock,
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she realizes it's already unlocked. She gets ready to scold
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whoever left it open, since everyone knows this door should
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stay locked during the week. She goes inside, closes the door,
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and locks it behind her. Inside the old church, the
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familiar smell of wood, bibles, and dust greets her. The
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building is quiet. As she walks toward the office. She
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sees the light is on, which isn't unusual past her
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shrieves often leaves it on, sometimes the radio also. She
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steps into the office and calls out softly, but no
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one answers. She sets down her purse, hangs up her coat,
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and her footsteps echo in the empty space as she
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moves through the office. As she gets closer to the
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receptionist's desk, she notices something that shouldn't be there. It
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takes her a moment to understand what she's seeing, just
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long enough for confusion to turn into dread. A woman's
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body is crumpled up on the floor in an unnatural position,
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blood everywhere, her dark brown hair matted with it. Judy freezes,
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her breath catching in her throat. Her mind flashes absurdly
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two episodes of CSI. She doesn't touch anything. Suddenly, she
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worries the person who did this might still be there.
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She grabs the cordless phone and runs for the door, panicking.
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When the dispatcher answers, she stumbles over her words. Outside,
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she waits, pacing and crying, trying to keep warm in
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the january cold. The minutes drag on. Every sound feels
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too loud, and the stillness is heavy. When the sirens
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finally arrive, they break the silence with both relief and fear.
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Paramedics rush past her, their boots heavy, Their voice is
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quick and focused. They don't notice her. Judy hears herself
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speak before she realizes it. Look behind the desk, she says.
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Paramedics find the woman and see something Judy missed. The
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woman is still breathing. They kneel, check on her and
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move quickly. Judy notices the air now smells metallic. The
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paramedics gently move the body and roll her onto a stretcher.
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They lift it and the wheels snap out with a
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hollow sound. Judy steps back and gives them space. As
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they approach the door, her heart pounds. As they pass,
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the sheet shifts and the woman's head turns. It's the
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first time Judy sees a face with an audible gasp.
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She says, that's my friend, Rohnda. Pennsylvania State Trooper Joseph
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Stumpo arrives at the church after the ambulance has left.
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The last emergency lights flicker against the stone walls that
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have stood since colonial times. The church was established before
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the United States even existed. It has served the same
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rural stretch of Bucks County for generations. Its cemetery filled
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with names that often repeat on headstones. Stumpo has worked
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on crashes, burglaries, and domestic assaults. He has never worked
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on a homicide. Inside the building remains orderly. The side
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door shows no signs of forced entry. The office light
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is still on. The hallway is quiet except for low
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radio traffic as officers secure the perimeter. In the small office,
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the scene is clear. The desk sits in the center
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of the room. Behind it, dark bloodstains the carpet In
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the large pool. The paramedics marked the outline of the
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body with tape before moving her, keeping the spot where
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she fell. The shape is unmistakable. Stumpo looks around the
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room carefully. Nothing is overturned, jars are closed, papers are
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still stacked on the desk. There are no signs of
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struggle or a search for money or valuables. If this
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were a robbery, the room would show it. If it
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were random violence, someone likely would have forced their way in. Instead,
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the scene suggests someone was close. They stood near the victim, fired,
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and left without disturbing anything else. Stumpo steps back in
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the hallway and looks towards the sanctuary beyond the office.
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For centuries, this church was a place of routine and ritual.
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Today it is the scene of a shooting. Stumpo finds
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Judy Zelder in her car in the church lot, the
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engine running to keep warm. Her hands are wrapped tightly
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around a tissue as he asks her to walk him
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through the afternoon. Stumpo listens as Judy speaks through sniffles,
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telling him that she didn't know anyone would be there
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and about the unlocked door. She nearly starts crying when
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she gets to the part about finding Ronda. He takes
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notes as Judy talks about Ronda. She says Ronda started
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coming to the church a couple of years ago. Ronda
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spoke openly about her money and her career troubles, all
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related to her bipolar diagnosis. She had been hospitalized before.
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There were times when she struggled deeply, even talked about
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hurting herself. But lately, Judy says, Ronda seemed stable. She
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was dating and making plans for the future. Just a
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couple of weeks ago, she stood in front of the
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congregation and thanked everyone for their support. Judy's tears burst forward,
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but Stumpo has to ask an uncomfortable question. Did she
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ever mention having a gun? He asks, Judy shakes her head. No.
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In a quiet church in the middle of the day,
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with no forced entry and no witnesses, one possibility stood out.
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Rondo was alone, had a history of depression, and was
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found with a bullet wound. Stumpbo writes this in his notes,
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though he doesn't think it really fits. By the time
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Stumpo reached the hospital, doctors confirmed what he suspected. Ronda
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had been shot in the head, but she was shot
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twice at close range. She was hit directly on the
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right side of her head, but also had grazing wounds
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on her hand and forehead, likely from a shot that missed.
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Crime scene texts later found a bullet lodged in the
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church office ceiling. She also had stipling, a sign that
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the gun was fired up close. Stumpo asks the necessary question,
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could she have done this to herself? He listens and
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takes notes as doctors explained that the way she was
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found makes it unlikely. Two shots to the head are
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rare in suicides, and the angles didn't show any kind
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of hesitation, which is common. It's a little harder than
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you think to put a gun up to your head
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and pull the trigger. Also, there was no gun at
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the scene, Stumpo thought. He closed his notepad and thanked
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the doctors for their work. He asked them to keep
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him updated about her condition, but they didn't think she
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would survive the night. The damage was too severe. Ronda
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was alive, but barely. Her head and right eye were
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heavily bandaged. She lay motionless with her tongue protruding from
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her lips. She was brain dead. Stumpo would learn later
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that her parents made the hard choice to let her
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pass that night. As he leaves the hospital, he thinks
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over the details of the case. His theory has changed.
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What he first thought might be suicide now points to
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somewhere else. Ronda did not shoot herself. Someone else did. Later,
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Mary Jane Fonder, a member of the church, called Ronda's parents,
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Joe and Joanne Smith. She said she wanted to bring
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over a pie. Joanne thanked her, but said she didn't
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want it. They weren't up for company. They were still
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trying to make sense of what happened. Mary Jane came anyway.
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When Joanne opens the door, she recognizes her right away.
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She's seen her at church, an older woman who sang
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in the choir with Ronda. Mary Jane stands on the porch,
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holding a pie dish with both hands. Her wig sits
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a little off center. She speaks softly, offering condolences in
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a tone that sounds practiced. Joanne invites her inside. Mary
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Jane sits at the kitchen table and folds her hands
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in her lap. She talks about the church, about how
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shaken everyone is, and about how much Ronda meant to
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the congregation. She asks questions about Ronda as a child,
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her favorite things, and what she was like growing up.
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An hour passes by, then another. Joe thinks to herself,
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this lady can really talk. As they talk, Joe Anne
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notices Mary Jane's shoes. They're cracked and worn thin in
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the soles, with the edges starting to separate. Before Mary
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Jane leaves, Joanne offers her a couple of pairs of
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Ronda's shoes from the hallway closet. It feels like a
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small gesture way to thank her for coming. Mary Jane
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accepts them, tries them on, and walks back and forth
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to see if they fit. After thanking them and saying goodbye,
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Mary Jane leaves. The pie stayed in the kitchen counter
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after she left. No one touched it. Trooper Stumpo meets
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with Pastor Greg Shreeves at the church in the days
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after the shooting. He tries to size him up before
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starting the conversation. Shreeves is tall and well built, a
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former professional golfer who entered the ministry as a second career.
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He carries himself with calm assurance, the kind that comes
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from years of public presence. His transition into pastoral life
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had been welcomed by the congregation, mostly the women who
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thought he was just dreamy when Stumpo asks about Rhonda.
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Shreeves explains that she was a member of the church
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who had struggled in the past with bipolar disorder. He
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had counseled and encouraged her. He helped her find structure.
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She was improving. Then Stumpo asks if anyone in the
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church had been behaving unusually in recent months. Shreves mentions
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Mary Sane fonder. She is a long time member, devoted,
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rarely missed a service. At first, she seemed harmless. She
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talked too much, trapping people in lengthy conversations, and she
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never seemed to wear her wig correctly, even backwards sometimes.
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Then she started requesting meetings with Shrieves. She waited after
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services to talk to him. She wanted private conversations that
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drifted beyond church matters. Then it got worse. Mary Jane
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started calling his home and leaving long, rambling messages. She
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would call multiple times a day for days on end.
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The messages became longer, more emotional, and less connected to
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anything specific. It was almost stream of consciousness, Shreeves said.
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Eventually he had to turn off his answering machine and
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block her number. Mary Jane just used her cell phone
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after that, and kept calling. Then she started leaving food
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for the pastor, except she would leave it inside his home,
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entering without his permission while he wasn't there. After that,
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he started to lock his door. Then there was the
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time they decorated the church bulletin boards together. Out of nowhere.
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Mary Jane said, you can't deny what's going on between us.
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S Treif said. He stopped her right there and told
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her that she had crossed the line. There was no
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romance between them. When Stumpo asks whether Mary Jane had
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reacted to his work with other parishioners, Treve's recalls comments
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she made about how often he met with Ronda. The
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remarks were not confrontational, he says, but they carried an edge.
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Stumpo writes the name down carefully, Mary Jane Fonder. He
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closed his notebook and thank the pastor for his time.
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As he prepared to leave, he couldn't shake what Shreves said.
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Persistent phone calls, unwanted visits, comments about relationships that didn't exist.
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None of it was a crime, but it was a
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pattern for sure, Mary Jane was worth looking into. After
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leaving the church, Stumpo meets with the police chief to
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update him on the case's progress. When he says the
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name Fonder, he notices the chief signal for him to stop.
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I know that name, the chief says. Years earlier, in
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nineteen ninety three, when the chief was still a patrolman,
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there had been a call to the Fonder residence. Mary
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Jane's father, Edward, had disappeared. She said she heard him
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walk out the front door, and he's never been seen again.
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Searches were conducted, neighbors were questioned, the property was examined.
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Nothing was ever found, and the case went cold. In fact,
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it's still open to this day. Stumple feels renewed at
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this lead. The last time Mary Jane's name came across
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the chief's desk, she was a person of interest in
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her father's disappearance. The interview room at the State Police
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barracks is quiet. Stumpo sits across the table from Mary Jane.
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Beside him is Trooper Robert Egan, an older, more seasoned
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veteran investigator brought in his backup. Egan doesn't speak much
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at first, he just watches, just like everything they had
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heard about Mary Jane. She starts to fill the silence.
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She starts rambling on about any and every subject on
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her mind. The troopers just let her talk. She talks
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about the church, about how much it means to her.
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She talks about Pastor Shreves. He's a real man. Pastor Shreves,
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He's a hell of a man, a real man, she says.
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The troopers continue to let her ramble. She goes on
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and on, jumping from one subject to another, then back again.
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You know the type. Eventually the conversation circles back to
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Pastor shreaths. I'll tell you I always liked the pastor.
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I had very sexual kind of feelings, warm feelings about
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the man, she says. Then the conversation shifts to Ronda.
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She talks about gatherings at the church, dinners and social
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outings where it seems Ronda was welcome, but she was not.
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She brings up the Sunday service where Ronda stood up
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and thanked everyone for their help. The whole world's going
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around this lady, and I don't know it, she says.
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She claims she wasn't jealous, but she keeps returning to
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all the attention, support and inclusion Ronda got, so it
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sure sounds like she is. Eventually, the troopers bring her
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back in on January twenty third, the day after the murder.
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Her alibi is precise. She had a hair appointment in
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Quakertown at eleven thirty am. She signed in at the
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salon at eleven twenty two am. The salon confirmed it,
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but Mary Jane wore a wig that day and she
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left it behind. Investigators collected it and sent it off
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for gunshot residue testing. If she had fired a gun
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that morning, residue would have gotten on that wig for sure.
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The test results showed that two of the three chemical
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components of gunshot residue were present. It wasn't enough to arrest,
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but it didn't call any suspicions either. Egan asks about
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her gun. She acknowledges owning a thirty eight caliber Rossy
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Revolver for protection, the same caliber gun that shot Ronda,
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but she explained she got rid of it many years
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yars ago. Egan asks how she got rid of it,
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and Mary Jane replies, I threw it in Lake Knock
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a Mixon years ago. She went on to explain that
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she got depressed after all the negative publicity surrounding her
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after her father's disappearance and decided to get rid of
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it after thoughts of harming herself. The troopers glanced at
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each other. In their experience, people don't discard guns this
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way unless they have something to hide. Stumpo asks the
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question directly, did you shoot Ronda? Mary Jane leans forward
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and says I didn't do it. Both investigators noticed that
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at that moment, Mary Jane's voice changed. It dropped lower, deeper,
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Her softness disappeared, replaced by something harder, something angrier. As
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quickly as it changed, it changed back, and Mary Jane
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went back to rambling. As the interview stretched on, Stumpo
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and Egan saw a pattern. She admitted having romantic feelings
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for the pasture. She described exclusion from the church and
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social events. She focused repeatedly on what Ronda had and
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what she did not. She denied being involved, but she
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may have just inadvertently revealed her motive. After the interview,
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the troopers didn't have a confession. They didn't have a weapon,
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but they did have enough suspicion to escalate. They decided
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to seize her car. She didn't fight it, but she
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did mention getting a lawyer. Seppo said, that's fine, but
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we're still taking your car. When the forensic test results return,
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the findings are positive for particles consistent with gunshot residue.
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There weren't heavy concentrations, not enough to arrest her, but
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three separate areas tested positive, the turn signal, the driver's
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door handle, and the driver's seat. The troopers decide to
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apply pressure and tell Mary Jane they've found gunshot residue,
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just to see what she did next. Then they waited.
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Soon after, an eight year old boy was fishing at
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Lake knock Amixon with his dad. The water in the
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lake was low, but the boy and his father didn't
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know was that the lake was low because of the
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police's previous attempts to find the gun. After a while,
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the little boy gets bored fishing for trout and gets
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distracted when he sees a gray heron. He tells his
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dad and he's going to get a closer look and
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starts making his way towards the large burn. Then a
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glint catches his eye an object sticking out of the
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shallow water. The boy runs over and picks it up,
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thinking he's found a toy gun, but once it was
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an his hand, the weight gave it away. It was
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a real gun. The little boy ran to his father
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to show him. The father panics when he sees his
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son with a gun and gently snatches it from him.
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The gun didn't appear to be rusted. It wasn't something
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you'd expect to find under water. He opens the cylinder
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and finds three spent casings in two live rounds. He
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dumped them in his hand and at that they were
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done fishing for the day. The boy and his father
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went home and called the police. The revolver recovered from
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Lake Nakamixon is sent to the Pennsylvania State Police crime Lab.
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The thirty eight caliber Rossi revolver pulled from the shallow
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water is the gun that killed Ronda. They stake out
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the church waiting for Mary Jane to arrive. When she does,
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they approached her. She isn't hysterical, she isn't combative. According
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to investigators, she looked at them and said, I figured
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you'd be coming. She's quickly placed under arrest and charged
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with the murder of Ronda. I didn't do it, she said,
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But now the denial has to compete with a gun
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pulled from shallow water. Prosecutors argued that on the morning
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of January twenty third, Mary Jane went to the church,
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knowing Ronda would be alone in the office. She brought
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her a thirty eight caliber Rossy revolver. The first shot
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grazed Ronda's hand and forehead. The second shot struck the
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right side of her head at close range. Then Mary
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Jane left. She drove to a scheduled hair appointment and
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signed in at eleven twenty two am like nothing ever happened.
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Prosecutors would later lay out a simple theory. Mary Jane
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didn't just kill the stranger, she killed a rival. For months,
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she had become attached to Pastor Greg Shreeves. She called
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him a quote real man, admitted she had very sexual,
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warm feelings for him. She interpreted pastoral kindness as intimacy.
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But then Ronda entered the picture. Ronda met with the
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pastor for counseling. She received financial help from the congregation.
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She stood before the church and publicly thanked them. She
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was welcomed into social gatherings. Mary Jane was not in
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the week before the murder, Ronda's life appeared to be stabilizing.
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She was working at the church, dating rebuilding. To Mary
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Jane that attention felt like displacement. Mary Jane was convicted
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of first degree murder. She was sentenced to life in
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prison without the possibility of parole. Even then, she maintained
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her innocence. I didn't do this terrible thing, she said.
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Years passed from prison, Mary Jane started writing letters to
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the authors who documented her case. The tone of those
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letters was different from that of the woman who sat
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in that interview room, insisting she had done nothing wrong.
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She wrote about having vivid dreams in which she was
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back inside the church office. In those dreams, she had
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the gun. In those dreams, she saw Rohnda fall. She
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started to question herself. She wondered whether something had happened
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that she couldn't fully remember. She suggested that maybe she
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had gone to church just to talk, maybe things escalated,
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maybe she blacked out. She never clearly confessed, but she
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stopped insisting she had not been there. Mary Jane died
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in prison years later. No accountability was ever taken. The
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questions about what happened to her father in nineteen ninety
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three remain unanswered, and whatever clarity she may have reached
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in those dreams, if any, is gone right along with
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her life at the church went on the pews filled
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the choir, saying the office light came on each morning.
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Pastor Shreeves kept Mary Jane's name on the prayer list
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long after the trial ended. He prayed for her, just
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as he had once prayed for Rhonda. In the end,
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one woman sought belonging and found it, and the other
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mistook attention for love. If you enjoyed the show, please
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00:29:30.240 --> 00:29:35.880
consider joining plus at Sword and Scale dot com slash plus.
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00:29:36.839 --> 00:29:40.039
But if you can't, consider leaving us a positive review
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on your preferred listening platform. Sweet Dreams and good Night