Mary Jane Fonder

Mary Jane Fonder (born July 5, 1942) is an American criminal who murdered a fellow congregant inside their church in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

Choir member Mary Jane Fonder was arrested and charged on April 1, 2008, with killing fellow church member Rhonda Smith inside Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Pennsylvania. Smith, 42, was found shot in the church on January 23, 2008. Police say Fonder shot Smith in a jealous rage. On Saturday, March 29, 2008, a gun inside a box was found in a lake by a boy fishing with his father. The gun was registered to Fonder. Fonder claimed she got rid of the gun in the 1990s. Police say that it was the same gun that killed Smith.

Additionally, Fonder was a suspect in the 1993 disappearance of her father Edward F. Fonder III. The Bucks County First Assistant D.A. in Bucks County said that case is not a closed matter.[1]

Early life

Mary Jane Fonder was born on July 5, 1942, to Alice and Edward Fonder III of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Fonder and her brother, Edward Fonder IV, grew up in West Philadelphia, where their father was a machinist and their mother was a publishing company proofreader. Fonder experienced emotional problems and occasional nervous breakdowns from as early as age eight.[2] Also when she was eight, her family purchased a country home in Springfield Township, a small rural town in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She attended John Bartram High School in Philadelphia, but had difficulty with her schoolwork due to the emotional issues. She was institutionalized for one month during her childhood after attempting to commit suicide by overdosing on chloral hydrate. Shortly afterward, Fonder dropped out of high school and found social interactions increasingly difficult.[3]

Fonder worked various jobs during her early adulthood, including at a ceramics studio, a department store, various knitting factories and the J.P. Lippincott publishing company, where she was a punchcard operator.[4] Fonder did not start dating until her late thirties and never formed any serious romantic relationships. In 1987, at age 45, Fonder moved back to Springfield Township to care for her ailing parents. Five years later, her mother had a leg amputated due to circulation problems, but the surgery went badly and she died after in September 1992 after a four-month coma.[5]

Father's disappearance

Edward Fonder III became depressed after his wife's death and began fighting with his daughter more often. Mary Jane Fonder later claimed their relationship became damaged beyond repair after two of Edward's elderly cousins visited from the Philadelphia area and harshly criticized how Mary Jane ate chicken.[6]

On August 26, 1993, the 80-year-old Edward Fonder III disappeared from his Springfield Township home. Mary Jane Fonder claimed she had heard the front door open while lying in bed that morning and believed her father was stepping outside to get the newspaper.[6] Fonder claimed she fell back asleep and, after awaking around 11 a.m., found that her father had disappeared. Fonder contacted the police and unsuccessfully searched for her father with the assistance of neighbors. Township police were suspicious of Fonder's claims that her father had wandered off, partially because the elderly man had trouble moving by himself and had no money or access to his medication.[7]

Mary Jane Fonder became the primary suspect for the possible homicide of her father.[8] The investigation was led by Springfield Township police officer Kimberly Triol. During one interview in Fonder's home, Triol discovered a bucket filled with pinkish water along with towels and a mop. She also found the corpse of a dog wrapped in plastic inside Fonder's freezer. Fonder also displayed a Taser gun in a non-threatening manner to Triol during one of their interviews.[9]

Fonder initially cooperated with police in their investigation, but ceased contact with them after she perceived Triol had attempted to elicit a confession from her. Fonder expressed to Triol that, although she did not recall hurting her father, she claimed it was possible the medication she was taking led her to do something to harm him. When Triol pressed her, Fonder ended the interview. Edward Fonder III was never found and his disappearance remains an open case.[10]

References

Mary Jane Fonder News

Topix.net: Mary Jane Fonder Google News: Mary Jane Fonder KCRA.com: Police: Jealousy Motive For Church Shooting (April 2, 2008) PennLive.com: Prosecutor: Woman Shot Fellow Pa. Church Member Out of Jealousy (April 2, 2008) phillyBurbs.com: Suspect Gave Victim's Parents a Pie (April 2, 2008) WFMZ-TV 69News: Woman Arrested for Murder of Fellow Church Member (April 1, 2008) KSAT.com: Police: Jealousy Motive for Church Shooting (April 2, 2008) phillyBurbs.com: 65-year-old Church Member Charged in Murder (April 1, 2008) The defendant had strong feelings for the pastor. She was jealous the victim was getting attention, said the district attorney.

Notes

  1. ↑ Websleuths.com
  2. ↑ McEvoy 2012, p. 81
  3. ↑ McEvoy 2012, p. 82
  4. ↑ McEvoy 2012, p. 83
  5. ↑ McEvoy 2012, p. 84
  6. 1 2 McEvoy 2012, p. 85
  7. ↑ McEvoy 2012, p. 86
  8. ↑ McEvoy 2012, p. 87
  9. ↑ McEvoy 2012, p. 89
  10. ↑ McEvoy 2012, p. 90

Bibliography

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/22/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.