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Pennsylvania Woman Found Lying in Pool of Blood in Church Office, and Her Killer "Shocked" Some
Rhonda Smith, 42, was found face down and shot twice in a church office in Springfield Township when a close friend stumbled upon the horrifying scene.
On January 23, 2008, Rhonda Smith was found face down in an office at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Springfield Township, Pennsylvania.
Smith, 42, had been shot twice. Judy Zellner, a close friend of the victim, stumbled upon the horrifying scene when she arrived at 12:30 p.m. to clean the church that she was a member of.
Zellner’s frantic 911 call can be heard in the “Sinner and Saint” episode of Philly Homicide, airing Saturdays at 9/8c p.m. on Oxygen.
“She’s dead,” Zellner told the dispatcher. “There’s blood all over her head and around her head.” But when paramedics arrived, they'd found that Smith was still clinging to life, and she was rushed to the hospital.
Who was Rhonda Smith?
Investigators learned that Smith had been a member of the church for two years. The pastor and congregation had embraced her, and she’d recently taken a part-time job there.
“She couldn't handle a full-time job at the church,” said Zellner. “She was bipolar, and it would grab her when she least expected it.”
Smith's mental health impacted her career. “Rhonda had a passion for teaching. She had a passion for children,” Deanna Durante, a reporter for Philadelphia-based WCAU, said on Philly Homicide.
Smith pursued teaching in college. “But bipolar got to her right at the last semester, and she never graduated,” said Zellner.
Smith yearned for independence and moved into her own apartment. Money was tight. She shared with church pastor Greg Shreaves that she was having trouble paying her bills.
The pastor rallied members of the congregation to help. “Some of us gave her cash and some gift cards, and they put it in a Christmas card,” said Zellner.
“Three days before Rhonda Smith was found, she stood in front of her congregation and thanked them for all of the help they had given her,” said Durante.
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Investigators try to figure out what happened to Rhonda Smith
Pennsylvania State Troopers processed the scene. They collected bullet fragments that could help determine the kind of gun the shooter used.
“The police also took possession of the office computer for an expert to do a forensic analysis,” said David W. Zellis, who was then a First Assistant District Attorney in the Bucks County DA's Office.
As troopers interviewed church members, the subject of suicide came up. The fact that Smith was shot twice didn’t automatically rule that out.
Louis Gober, a sergeant with the Pennsylvania State Police, said that he had seen suicides “where there are multiple gunshots from a victim into themselves.”
But there was no gun at the scene, which led to more questions. “Detectives asked me, did I kick a gun, did I see a gun, did I hide a gun?” said Zellner. “There was no gun.”
Several hours after the shooting, Smith’s parents made the difficult decision to end life support. “We circled around her, holding hands,” Zellner told Philly Homicide.
What were the results of Rhonda Smith's autopsy?
Smith had been shot twice. “One was a glancing wound to her head, and the other one had penetrated her skull,” said Richard Webb, Jr., who was then a lieutenant with the Pennsylvania State Police.
The forensic pathologist observed gunpowder stippling on Smith’s forehead and on her hand. The evidence indicated that she raised her hand in a defensive position.
The evidence ruled out suicide and Smith's death was categorized as a homicide. From the bullet fragments, investigators determined that the murder weapon was a .38 caliber gun.
Investigators developed a theory of the crime. “The first gunshot would have stunned or knocked down Rhonda,” said Webb. “The second one was much closer, apparently, standing over her.”
When they analyzed the church computer, detectives saw that Smith logged on at 9:40 a.m. and made her last entry at 10:58 a.m. She was found at 12:30 p.m. Troopers determined the murder to have occurred at around 11 a.m.
Pastor's tip leads to a suspect
Investigators focused on Smith’s close circle, including Pastor Shreaves. He’d been out of town at a conference for three days.
Being away “ruled out the possibility that he could have been involved,” said Webb, adding that Shreaves knew his parishioners better than anyone. “He became a valuable tool to try and home in on a suspect.”
A one-time person of interest was a man who showed up at the church on a couple occasions. “He said to one of our parishioners, ‘This would be a good place to rob,’ so we were a little skeptical,” said Zellner.
When troopers couldn’t find that stranger, he was put on the back burner. Detectives investigated two men in Smith’s mental health support group whose rock-solid alibis cleared them, according to Philly Homicide.
Shreaves also shared the name of Mary Jane Fonder, a 65-year-old parishioner and longtime community member who frequently left rambling phone messages for the pastor.
It was a game-changing tip. “It refocused our investigation,” Webb said.
Mary Jane Fonder becomes key suspect
The pastor had described Fonder as a “lonely soul."
"He invited her to help decorate the church, but whatever interest he had shown toward her, she misinterpreted,” said Zellis.
Shreaves was adamant that he'd never had a romantic relationship with Fonder, said Gober.
Through a background check, detectives learned that Fonder grew up in West Philadelphia and had worked as a health care aide.
She’d moved to Springfield Township to care for her aging parents. She had a .38 caliber handgun registered to her.
Phone records showed that Fonder had called the church on the morning of January 23. Two days later, Fonder was questioned by detectives.
Fonder shared that congregants had never offered financial help to her or the chance to socialize. “[She] was bothered by the attention that Rhonda got, not just from the pastor, but from the entire church,” said Durante.
Mystery from Mary Jane Fonder’s past surfaces
Fonder told police that she'd bought a handgun in 1993, which was the same year that her dad disappeared. By this time, her mother had died. Fonder claimed that she threw the gun off a bridge into Lake Nockamixon, a local reservoir.
A search at the time for Fonder’s missing father turned up that she was cashing his Social Security checks. “Her father's investigation, from our understanding, was still open and active,” said Gober.
When asked to account for her whereabouts on the day of Smith's murder, Fonder said that she'd had an 11 a.m. hairdresser appointment. Police learned that she was about 20 minutes late for it and had left her wig.
The hairpiece, which hadn’t been washed at the salon, was tested for gunpowder residue but came up negative.
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While a police search for a gun at Lake Nockamixon was unsuccessful, analysis of Fonder’s vehicle showed gunpowder residue on the steering wheel and gear shift.
In late March, detectives caught a big break when fishermen snagged a gun at Lake Nockamixon. It turned out to be the firearm registered to Fonder. Analysis showed that it was the weapon used to kill Smith.
Mary Jane Fonder arrested for murder
On April 1, 2008, Fonder was arrested for murder. "That shocked some people, but it didn't shock me," said Smith's friend Sue Brunner.
It appeared that Fonder wasn't surprised, either. “Mary Jane saw this coming, to the point that she had already consulted a criminal defense attorney,” said Durante.
The trial began in the fall, and people were riveted.
“The prosecutor's case here is that Mary Jane Fonder was motivated by jealousy, her desire to have the church pastor's attention all to herself,” Durante added.
What happened to Mary Jane Fonder?
On October 30, 2008, Fonder was found guilty of first-degree murder. She was sentenced to life without the chance of parole.
Fonder went into cardiac arrest and died in prison on June 4, 2018. Her father’s disappearance remains unsolved.
To learn more about the case, watch the “Sinner and Saint” episode of Philly Homicide, which airs new episodes Saturdays at 9/8c p.m. on Oxygen.
