Mary Jane Fonder

Mary Jane Fonder (July 5, 1942 – June 4, 2018 ) was an American criminal who murdered Rhonda Smith, a fellow congregant, inside their church in Bucks County, Pennsylvania in 2008. Fonder had also been the prime suspect in the possible homicide of her father, Edward Fonder III, who disappeared in 1993.

Early life Fonder was born on July 5, 1942, to Alice and Edward Fonder III of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Fonder also displayed a Taser gun in a non-threatening manner to Triol during one of their interviews. Smith, shot twice in the head, died at a hospital after being disconnected from life support.

According to police and prosecutors, Fonder had called the church on the day of the murder and discovered that Smith would be alone in the church's office that day. Fonder, who often wore a wig, kept an appointment to have her natural hair washed and styled after shooting Smith and left her wig at the hair salon, where police later retrieved it.

On April 1, 2008, Fonder was arrested for Smith's murder, some weeks after fishermen found a .38 caliber revolver on the shore of Lake Nockamixon. she claimed to have thrown it into Lake Nockamixon in 1994, though she gave police two different reasons for having done so.

Fonder's trial began on October 21, 2008. Prosecutors argued that Fonder, a member of the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church for 14 years, Fonder's defense attorney told the court that his client was not present at the scene of the crime and did not shoot Rhonda Smith. Fonder's attorney further argued that Smith's death might have been suicide, or a homicide committed by a jealous wife or a lover. During closing arguments, Fonder's attorney told the jury that Mary Jane's brother, Edward Fonder IV, was also a likely suspect, pointing out that he had hired a lawyer after finding bullet fragments in his car and notifying police.

On October 30, 2008, a jury found Fonder guilty of first-degree murder and possession of an instrument of crime. On December 5, 2008, she was sentenced to serve life in prison.

Death On June 4, 2018, Fonder died of cardiac arrest at State Correctional Institution – Muncy in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania.