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A Churchwoman’s Conviction Led to Ultimate Carnage
The elderly executioner weaponized her jealousy against another
Mary Jane Fonder was lonely.
She experienced hardships when seeking out romantic partners, never marrying or having children, but she did not need those, as she had spent time cultivating a close relationship with God — her faith, and her church, came first, except for when the pastor heading Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bucks County, a former golf professional and new reverend, Gregory ‘Greg’ Shreaves, caught her attention.
Shreaves only said that she was a talented singer in the church choir who always went the extra mile of helping out. But for Fonder, her interest became an “infatuation,” and quickly, much more than that.
Fonder would kill for Shreaves, no matter who got in the way.
She made up her mind and scribbled something down in her daily planner.
Fonder, 65, had been a member of the rural Springfield Township church for 14 years. She felt troubled by the presence of Rhonda Smith, a woman newer to the community. Smith, who attended services for about two years, often with her mother, paralleled Fonder in her lack of children and marriage, but sought out a life of independence.
In her younger years, Smith dreamed of being a teacher. She was close to her family, and equally close to accomplishing her occupational plans when suddenly, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Unable to get her teaching certificate due to the difficulties she started experiencing, Smith graduated from Northampton Community College with an associate’s degree in secretarial science, according to the book “Love Me or Else: The True Story of a Devoted Pastor, a Fatal Jealousy, and the Murder that Rocked a Small Town” by journalists Colin McEvoy and Lynn Olanoff.
Now 42, Smith lived on her own and fit into the church community. Rev. Shreaves said Smith informed him she still sometimes had trouble paying for her rent and her necessary medication. Her diagnosis also made it difficult for her to keep…
