A woman who shot and killed a perceived romantic rival inside a Bucks County church died in prison Monday as the search for her missing father continues.
Mary Jane Fonder, 75, died of cardiac arrest in the prison infirmary at the State Correctional Institution at Muncy.
Fonder had been incarcerated at Muncy since December of 2008 after being sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Rhonda Smith, 42.
Fonder fell in love with her pastor at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Springfield Township, Pennsylvania. When the pastor didn’t show any interest in her, Fonder viewed Smith as a romantic rival. On Jan. 23, 2008 Fonder shot and killed Smith as she sat at a desk inside a church office.
After killing Smith, Fonder drove to a hair appointment and tossed the murder weapon off an overpass into Lake Nockamixon.
Fonder was convicted of first-degree murder on Oct. 30, 2008 but initially denied she killed Smith.
“I’m sorry, so very sorry this poor woman was murdered,” Fonder said. “But in the name of God...I did not kill Rhonda Smith.”
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Fonder later admitted to killing Smith, telling reporters that she didn’t remember shooting her while acknowledging she had to have been the killer.
Along with Smith’s death, Fonder was also a suspect in the disappearance of her father, Edward Fonder III.
In July of 1993, Edward Fonder III, who was 83 at the time, vanished from his home on Winding Road in Springfield Township where he and Mary Jane Fonder lived together. He’s been missing since then and Mary Jane Fonder remained the only suspect in his disappearance at the time of her death.
During the investigation, Mary Jane Fonder refused to allow police to search the property on Winding Road. After she was convicted and sentenced, her brother also did not allow investigators to search the home.
Once the property was sold, a neighbor gave investigators access to the house, which is now demolished, and the surrounding land. Detectives were unable to find anything however.
Despite Mary Jane Fonder’s death, officials say they will continue to search for her father.
“The search will continue because the District Attorney’s Office is still concerned about returning the remains to the family for closure and a proper burial,” Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said.
Mary Jane Fonder was the oldest woman ever convicted of murder in Bucks County. Her attorney once described her as “the aunt you don’t want to sit next to at Thanksgiving.”
