Mackenzie Shirilla

 

On July 31, 2022, Mackenzie Shirilla intentionally crashed her vehicle into a brick wall in Strongsville, Ohio, killing her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, and his friend, Davion Flanagan.

Both Russo and Flanagan were pronounced dead at the scene, while Shirilla was seriously injured and taken to the hospital. Shirilla, who was 17 years old at the time of the crime, was later arrested and charged with the murder of Russo and Flanagan. In a 2023 bench trial, the judge concluded that she intentionally crashed the car in an act of premeditated murder. Shirilla was convicted of 12 felony charges and sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 15 years. As of 2025, she was incarcerated at the Ohio Reformatory for Women. Multiple documentaries about the case have been made.

Background

Mackenzie Shirilla was raised by her parents, Natalie and Steve Shirilla, in Strongsville, Ohio. At the time of the crash, Shirilla was a 17-year-old recent graduate of Strongsville High School. During her studies, Shirilla had met her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, 20, who had graduated from the school by the time of the incident. Russo was a business owner of several stores and dated Shirilla for 4 years. His brother has stated that their relationship had conflicts, claiming they had broken up and reunited multiple times. The pair started living together in 2021. Russo's mother, Christine, stated that six months before the crash, the relationship between Russo and Shirilla experienced tension again, including multiple claims of Shirilla abusing Russo at length. For example, in July 2022, Russo called Christine in distress, and she sent a family friend to pick Russo up. The friend claimed to have seen Shirilla screaming, "I'm going to wreck this car right now," and trying to hit Russo with her hands. A video also filmed in July 2022 showed Shirilla threatening to break into Russo's house.

Classmates of Shirilla said that she was a fan of Regina George, a character from the movie Mean Girls, and liked to imitate her. Shirilla was a notable student, with her reportedly being followed around the school by over a hundred girls. Shirilla had an account on TikTok where she posted videos of her lifestyle and clothing. The account had a large number of followers, as well as several companies sending samples of clothing and products for review. Shirilla reportedly enjoyed living in the Russo residence, spending time with Russo's family, and driving her car through areas of Strongville. Shirilla and Russo had a mutual friend, Davion Flanagan, who was 19 years old at the time of the incident. He was a school athlete who was adopted at the age of eight by his guardian, Jaime Flanagan, from his biological family, who reportedly abused drugs.

Car crash and investigation

On July 30, 2022, Shirilla, Russo, and his friend Flanagan attended several events hours before the crash. At approximately 10:15 p.m., they attended a graduation party held at the house of Kelly Vraja, one of Shirilla's friends. The trio spent less than an hour there before driving to the house of their friend Paul Burlinghouse at 11 p.m., where they listened to music and smoked marijuana. They continued spending time in the house until the start of July 31, leaving at 5:30 a.m. At 5:34 am, a CCTV camera captured Shirilla's car, which was a 2018 Toyota Camry, slowly turning right from Pearl Road into Progress Drive. One minute later, a second camera captured the car speeding with lights on at the end of Progress Drive, crossing the T-split with Alameda Drive into the Plidco building, the corner of the brick wall exactly hitting the passenger side of the car. At the 2022 Google Earth Street View, the impact site can still be seen as a blue plastic sheet covering this wall. The car was travelling at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour when it crashed. First responders arrived at the scene 45 minutes after the crash to find Russo, Flanaga,n and Shirilla unconscious, with Shirilla’s foot still pressing the accelerator pedal. Shirilla was taken to a nearby hospital while Russo and Flanagan were pronounced dead at the scene. Police found a psilocybin mushroom and a digital scale in Shirilla’s possession.

Russo was sitting in the passenger seat of the vehicle at the time of the crash, with Flanagan sitting in the back. Body camera footage from the responding officers revealed one of them saying that the car "split in two," and another officer could be heard describing it as the "worst" car crash that he had ever seen. Shirilla was severely injured and suffered multiple bone fractures. She was airlifted to a hospital where she underwent multiple surgeries. Witnesses said that she was "inconsolable" when she learned that Russo and Flanagan died. Shirilla posted multiple videos about her time in the hospital, showing the interior of the medical ward. The popularity of her account peaked during her stay in the hospital, with multiple modeling agencies reaching out to her. Shirilla showed videos of her sitting in a wheelchair attending concerts and posted satirical TikTok videos, one video showed her saying,g; "I’m just one of those girls that can do a lot of drugs and not die".

In addition to this, she also posted photos of Russo and Flanagan dressed as corpses during Halloween. Such behavior made Flanagan's sister suspicious of her, and she urged her family to call the police on Shirilla. During the start of the investigation, detectives thought that the crash was an accident; however, some theorized that someone had tampered with the vehicle. An expert in mechanics was called for assistance. He concluded that the car was completely operational during the crash and that the brakes and pedals were working as intended. Shirilla was interrogated and said that she blacked out during the crash and had no memories of the incident. Police soon began to believe that she had intentionally crashed her vehicle. They believed that her intention in crashing the car was to commit murder-suicide because she did not want Russo to break up with her again. The police tracked GPS data from her devices and discovered that she had been to that very industrial area 3 days before the incident, likely as preparation for the crash.

Arrest and incarceration

On November 4, 2022, the police gathered enough evidence to arrest Shirilla shortly after her discharge from the hospital. She was charged with 17 crimes, including 2 counts of aggravated murder and one count of drug trafficking. Bodycam footage of the arrest was released in 2025, showing an officer handcuffing Shirilla as she was crying. While being transported to jail in a police cruiser, she was seen closing her eyes and seemingly trying to relax. On August 14, 2023, Shirilla was found guilty by the Cuyahoga County Court on charges of felonious assault, murder, aggravated vehicular homicide, drug possession, and criminal tools possession. Judge Nancy Margaret Russo said that Shirilla's actions were premeditated, calling her "hell on wheels". Prosecutors said Shirilla had no remorse and used social media videos of her dancing on Halloween as evidence.

Shirilla's lawyer, James McDonnell, chose a bench trial, where a judge determines a person's guilt, rather than a jury trial. On August 21, 2023, the sentencing phase of the trial began. Davyne Flanagan, the sister of Davion Flanagan, asked the court to give Shirilla "the longest possible sentence." Christine Russo, Dominic Russo's mother, told Shirilla that she should be "thankful" she is still alive and has a future. Shirilla was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 15 years. She received two life-in-prison terms, one for murdering Russo and another for killing Flanagan. They are to be served concurrently. The judge also permanently suspended her driver's license. After the sentencing, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office released a statement saying that the murder was premeditated and that Shirilla intentionally drove the car at 5:30 a.m. due to the streets being relatively quiet in the late night and early morning hours.

On September 25, 2023, Shirilla's legal team filed an appeal, alleging that there was not enough evidence in the trial for the convictions and that multiple clerical errors were made during the trial. The appeal was denied. They filed a second appeal on April 24, 2025. Judge Russo denied this appeal also due to it being filed "untimely". On May 22, 2025, the family of Shirilla was interviewed by WKYC, stating that they believe the crash to be unintentional. Shirilla is currently incarcerated at the Ohio Reformatory for Women. Her parole hearing is scheduled for 2038.

Aftermath

Shortly after the news of the crash, friends of Russo and Flanagan created a small memorial near the crash site to show their support. Family of Davion Flanagan later created the Davion Flanagan Memorial Scholarship to provide educational support to "aspiring barbers" in Flanagan's honor.

Various companies and streaming services made documentaries about the incident. The case was featured in a podcast titled Hell on Wheels on YouTube, Court TV made a documentary about the murders on YouTube, and several videos detailing the case were also uploaded to the platform. True crime series Killer Cases analysed the case in season 4, episode 12 of the series, posting it on Channel 4 and Apple TV. It was also featured in a documentary by Investigation Discovery in 2025 and an op-ed written by Republican politician Armstrong Williams in 2023, which talked about the decline of traditional values in the United States. He said that Shirilla's name had been "etched into the annals of a society".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Dominic_Russo_and_Davion_Flanagan

Dulce Maria Alavez

 

Dulce Maria Alavez (born April 25, 2014 – disappeared September 16, 2019) is an American girl who vanished near Bridgeton City Park in Bridgeton, New Jersey, and is believed to have been abducted. A reward has been offered for finding Alavez.

Disappearance

On September 16, 2019, 5-year-old Dulce Maria Alavez and her brother were playing on the swings, while Alavez's pregnant mother was in her car, 30 yards away. She was playing a scratch-off lottery ticket and helping her younger sister with her homework. It was around 4 pm to 6 pm (ET) when Alavez suddenly vanished from the playground. Alavez's mother went to see where her children were and found Alavez’s brother, alone, crying at the swings.

Search and aftermath

Over 30 police officers were part of a search party who looked in the nearby woods, but found nothing. The suspect is described as a light-skinned Hispanic male, approximately 5'8", driving a red van. Police have no strong suspects as of June 15, 2023.

Dr. Phil and In Pursuit with John Walsh carried segments about the disappearance.

In February 2021, following leads, a search for Alavez was conducted in Austintown, Ohio.

In 2020, a false claim that Alavez had been located deceased was spread on social media. In 2021, along with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children releasing two age-progression images of Alavez as a seven-year-old, FBI special agent Daniel Garrabrant said, "The offender who took Dulce was likely there for a period of time. It was a crime of opportunity. They were looking for a child, maybe their age or gender."

Investigators have used artificial intelligence to create images of Alavez as she would appear as she grew older.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Dulce_Maria_Alavez

Jared Bridegan

 

The killing of Jared Bridegan occurred on February 16, 2022, in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. Jared Bridegan, a 33-year-old Microsoft senior design manager, was shot and killed after he dropped off his older twins at his ex-wife's house.

In January 2023, Henry Tenon was arrested for Bridegan's murder. In March 2023, a second suspect, Mario Fernandez Saldana, was arrested in Orange County, Florida. The grand jury indicted the suspect with charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony, and child abuse. In August 2023, a third suspect, Shanna Gardner, ex-wife of the victim and wife of the second suspect, was arrested and indicted on the same charges.

Tenon accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The other two suspects pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against the suspects. The trial was originally scheduled for late 2025, before being pushed to November 2026.

Jared Bridegan

Jared Galen Bridegan was born on June 29, 1988, in Warrensburg, Missouri, to Gaylord and JoAnn Bridegan. He was raised in Jacksonville, Florida, and attended Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. In 2014, he graduated from Utah Valley University with a B.S. degree in Digital Media. He worked in various technology and design roles, including at Clean Simple Eats, Web.com, and Microsoft.

In April 2010, Bridegan married his first wife in Salt Lake City, Utah. Bridegan and his first wife had two children together. In 2015, they divorced. Bridegan married his second wife, Kirsten, a woman from Charlotte, North Carolina, with whom he had two children. At that time, Bridegan was a 33-year-old man and lived in St. Augustine, Florida.

Killing

On February 16, 2022, Bridegan drove from St. Augustine to Jacksonville Beach to drop off his 9-year-old twin children at his ex-wife's home, with his 2-year-old daughter in the backseat of his Volkswagen Atlas. Bridegan was driving home when he stopped between Jacksonville Drive and Sanctuary Boulevard because a tire was in the middle of the road. When he got out of the car to move the tire, he was shot and killed. Some bullets passed through the car, inches away from Bridegan's daughter.

Around 8 p.m., Jacksonville Beach police officers responded to reports of shots being fired in the area. The police found Bridegan's body with multiple gunshot wounds, next to his car.

Investigation

The State Attorney's Office and the Jacksonville Beach Police Department were certain that the killing was premeditated and even rehearsed.

The details from the investigation of Bridegan's killing were not made public, but it was mentioned that Bridegan was involved in a custody battle with his ex-wife. His ex-wife was living in West Richland, Washington, with her children after the killing. According to the police, a blue Ford F-150 was seen on a security video at the time of the murder.

Henry Tenon, a then 61-year-old man, was considered a person of interest because he drove a blue Ford F-150 and was a former tenant at one of the suspect's homes. Tenon's cellphone records indicated he was in Jacksonville Beach the night of the killing. Tenon also had a criminal history. Tenon said a friend borrowed the truck that night. Tenon requested an attorney after police questioned him. On October 14, police found three checks totaling $10,000 in Tenon's bank accounts. There were checks for $2,000 and $3,000 that were cashed on March 28 and a check for $5,000 that was cashed on April 4. All of the checks were signed by one of the suspects.

Arrests

In January 2023, Tenon was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder, second-degree murder with a weapon, and accessory after the fact to a capital felony. After the arrest warrant, phone records revealed that Tenon and one of the suspects had 35 calls in February, 30 calls in March, and additional calls between May and June. Tenon accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to second-degree murder, with the other charges dropped, and agreed to testify in the trial. Tenon confessed and accepted that he was the triggerman. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

In March 2023, Mario Fernandez-Saldana - the husband of the victim's ex-wife, Shanna Gardner-Fernandez - was arrested in Orange County, Florida. A grand jury indicted him on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony, and child abuse. In August 2023, Bridegan's ex-wife, Shanna Gardner-Fernandez, was indicted by the grand jury on the same charges. Both pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against the suspects.

Legacy

After Jared's murder, his widow, Kirsten Bridegan, started the Bridegan Foundation in his honor. The foundation has created the "Bexley Box" to donate to police departments and sheriff's offices, first in Florida and then around the country. These boxes contain necessities and comfort items for children, such as toys, sippy cups, diapers in assorted sizes, and blankets. Their goal is to "make children's experiences at police stations a little less traumatic and scary".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Jared_Bridegan

DJ Fickey

 

Donald "DJ" Fickey Jr. was a 28-year-old Georgia man whose 2016 death, initially ruled a suicide, was later proven to be a murder by Marshall Payne. Following years of investigation by family and authorities, Payne was convicted in November 2025 of malice and felony murder.

Case Details and Investigation

Incident: On October 3, 2016, DJ Fickey was found dead from a gunshot wound in Walker County, Georgia.

Initial Ruling: Police originally ruled the death a suicide based on reports from Marshall Payne, who claimed the gun discharged accidentally while trying to stop Fickey.

Investigation: Family members, specifically his sister Amanda Shirley, and a private investigator, believed it was murder, citing red flags in the initial report.

Reversal: The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) changed the manner of death to undetermined in 2020 and later to homicide.

Conviction: In November 2025, a jury found Marshall Payne guilty of murder, revealing a motive involving a love triangle between Payne, Fickey, and Fickey's wife.

Sentence: Payne was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Elisabeth Finch

 

Elisabeth R. Finch (born March 1978) is an American television writer best known for her work on the series True Blood and Grey's Anatomy.

Finch gained public notoriety for her abrupt resignation from Grey's Anatomy, which was prompted by an investigation into a series of lies that she told about her personal and medical history.

Career

Finch began her career by writing a short film entitled Looking for My Brother, released in 2006. She was then hired as a writer's assistant on True Blood in 2008. She worked on True Blood until 2010 and was credited as a writer's assistant on 17 episodes, as an assistant to writers on five episodes, and as a writer on three episodes.

She wrote two episodes for the first and only season of No Ordinary Family, which aired on ABC from 2010 to 2011. In 2012, she began working on The Vampire Diaries and was credited as a story writer on six episodes, a story editor on two episodes, and an executive story editor on 15 episodes. Coworkers reportedly gave her the nickname "Vampire Girl" as a joke, referencing the niche she had established working on True Blood and The Vampire Diaries during her early career.

In 2015, Finch began working on Grey's Anatomy as a writer and producer. She wrote 13 episodes and produced a total of 172 episodes before she departed from the series. Finch was also a guest actor in the Grey's Anatomy season 15 episode "Silent All These Years", in which she played the role of Nurse Elisabeth. Finch was offered a position in the writers' room at Grey's Anatomy following the publication of a piece that she had written for Elle in 2014 about her diagnosis with chondrosarcoma and her experience working as a television writer while undergoing cancer treatments. It has been reported that the chondrosarcoma diagnosis and subsequent story arc of the character Dr. Catherine Avery, played by Debbie Allen, was inspired by Finch's supposed medical history.

Controversy

Throughout her time working in the writers' room at Grey's Anatomy, Finch wrote a series of essays about her personal medical struggles in publications including Elle, The Hollywood Reporter, and Shondaland. In these articles, she shared stories about her purported diagnosis with chondrosarcoma (a rare bone cancer), having an abortion while undergoing chemotherapy, losing a kidney, and undergoing a knee replacement due to misdiagnosis. Finch's medical history was never verified by any of the publications, and she confessed to her then-wife, Jennifer Beyer, that none of these stories were true when Beyer confronted her over some inconsistencies.

Finch had altered her appearance to appear sick while working on Grey's Anatomy and used stories about her medical diagnoses to gain accommodations at work, including deadline extensions and periods of absence. Finch also reportedly made allegations that her brother abused her as a child, that he died by suicide, and that she cleaned up the remains of a friend who was killed in the Tree of Life synagogue mass shooting.

In March 2022, it was reported that Disney, a Shondaland affiliate at the time, had opened an investigation into Finch's falsehoods. The investigation was prompted when Beyer contacted Disney and Shondaland with information that she had uncovered about Finch's past. During Disney's investigation, Finch refused to provide medical documentation or undergo an independent medical evaluation to substantiate her claims, and she was subsequently placed on administrative leave on March 17, 2022. Finch formally resigned shortly after, and the investigation ended.

In December 2022, Finch released a formal statement confessing that she never had cancer. Finch also admitted that her brother had not died by suicide and is currently living in Florida.

In October 2024, Peacock released Anatomy of Lies, a three-part docuseries about Finch's career and controversy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_R._Finch

Alissa Turney

 

Alissa Turney (born April 3, 1984) is an American girl who was last seen aged 17 in the Phoenix, Arizona area on May 17, 2001.

Background

Alissa Marie Turney of Phoenix, Arizona, was born in 1984 to parents Barbara Farner and Stephen Strahm. Alissa's parents divorced when she was three years old, and her mother, Barbara, married a man named Michael Turney. Michael, who had three children from a previous relationship, adopted Alissa and her older brother John. Shortly after they married, Michael and Barbara had a child of their own, Sarah. Barbara died of cancer when Alissa was nine years old, leaving Michael to raise all six children as a single parent.

At the time of her disappearance, Alissa lived with her adoptive father, Michael Turney, and half-sister Sarah Turney. The other children were adults and no longer lived at home. She worked at the fast-food restaurant Jack in the Box and had a boyfriend.

Disappearance

May 17, 2001, was the last day of Alissa's junior year at Paradise Valley High School. According to her stepfather, he dropped her off in the morning as usual, then picked her up around lunchtime. Allegedly, they argued, and she stormed off. Later, he and Sarah found a note in her bedroom, written by Alissa, claiming that she was running away to California. However, she had left her cell phone and other personal items behind. That night, Alissa had plans to go to a party, but did not attend.

On May 24, 2001, Michael Turney claimed that he received a phone call from a California number during which Alissa swore at him before hanging up.

In 2008, Michael claimed that Alissa was killed by two "assassins" from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and that she was buried in Desert Center, California.

Investigation

Turney filed a missing person's report on May 17, 2001, but in the immediate days following Alissa's disappearance, police did not suspect foul play, and no police investigation took place.

In 2006, self-proclaimed serial killer Thomas Albert Hymer told a prison guard that he had killed Alissa. He had been in prison since 2003 for an unrelated murder. However, when Phoenix police questioned Hymer, they ultimately determined that he had not had any contact with Alissa, and he admitted he might have confused her with a different victim.

In 2008, the case was reopened. In December 2008, detectives told Sarah that her father was their main suspect. Simultaneously, authorities were raiding the Turney home, where they seized more than two dozen improvised explosive devices, 19 firearms, two homemade silencers, and a van full of gasoline. They also found a manifesto outlining his plans for a rampage against the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers building in Phoenix. Michael Turney was arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced to 10 years in jail. He was released in August 2017.

In the media

Television

Alissa's case was featured in two episodes of 20/20. In October 2014, it was the subject of "What Happened to Alissa?" (Season 3, Episode 57). In September 2023, it was the subject of "Since You've Been Gone" (Season 45, Episode 37). In both episodes, Michael Turney repeatedly asserted his innocence.

Dateline NBC showcased the recent developments in Alissa's case in December 2023 with an episode entitled, "The Day Alissa Disappeared." Michael Turney was interviewed as part of the episode and again declared he had nothing to do with Alissa's disappearance.

Podcasts

Missing Alissa

From July 2017 to January 2019, Phoenix resident and freelance journalist Ottavia Zappala released a podcast called Missing Alissa that explored the case and interviewed some of Alissa's friends and family.

Voices for Justice

In June 2019, Alissa's half-sister Sarah Turney, who was 12 in 2001, began a podcast called Voices for Justice that explored Alissa's disappearance and the subsequent police investigation. She drew upon over 3,000 pages of publicly released notes and case documents from the Phoenix Police Department. In April 2020, Sarah began posting about the case on TikTok, garnering millions of views.

After over 30 episodes about Alissa's case, in January 2021, the podcast instead began covering other murders and missing persons cases in order not to jeopardize the ongoing investigation into Alissa's case.

Arrest

In August 2020, Michael Turney was arrested in Mesa, Arizona. He was indicted and charged by a Maricopa County grand jury on second-degree murder charges in the death of Alissa.

Aftermath

All charges against Michael Turney were dismissed in July 2023. As of 2026, Alissa's body had not yet been found.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Alissa_Turney

Reuschel Family Nightmare

Michael Reuschel was convicted in 2019 of attempting to murder his wife, Susan O'Brien Reuschel, in their Gainesville, Florida, home on February 2, 2018. Prosecutors argued Michael stabbed Susan to avoid splitting his fortune in a divorce, while the defense claimed self-defense following a fight over a costly wedding.

Key Details of the Reuschel Case

The Incident: Police found both Mike and Sue Reuschel stabbed and bleeding inside their home, with Mike initially claiming a home invasion.

Motive/Conflict: Prosecutors alleged that tensions arose over a $100,000+ wedding for Mike's daughter, which caused severe marital strain.

Charges: Michael Reuschel was found guilty of attempted murder, false imprisonment, depriving the victim of medical care, and tampering with evidence.

Defense Claim: The defense argued that Susan had previously shown suicidal tendencies and attacked him, making it a case of self-defense.

Media Coverage: The case was featured on 48 Hours in an episode titled "Reuschel vs. Reuschel".

Susan Reuschel survived the attack.

Isabella Guzman

 

Isabella Guzman is a Colorado woman who gained notoriety in 2013 for the brutal murder of her mother, Yun-Mi Hoy, at the age of 18. After being found not guilty by reason of insanity due to schizophrenia, she was committed to a mental health facility.

Case Details

The Incident: On August 28, 2013, in Aurora, Colorado, Guzman stabbed her mother 79 times in the face and neck in their bathroom.

Background: Before the murder, there was intense hostility between18-year-old Guzman and her mother, including a threatening note left by Guzman that read, "You will pay".

Mental State: A doctor testified that Guzman suffered from schizophrenia and believed she was killing a woman named "Cecelia" to save the world, rather than her mother.

Legal Outcome: In 2014, she pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and was sent to the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo.

Post-Conviction and Viral Fame

TikTok Virality: In 2020, years after the incident, footage from her 2013 court appearance went viral on TikTok, where users commented on her expressionless demeanor.

Requests for Release: Guzman has stated in interviews that her sanity has been restored through medication and that she was not in her right mind at the time of the attack.

Current Status: As of June 2021, a judge ruled that Guzman could leave the state hospital for supervised, off-campus therapy, requiring her to wear a GPS tracker.

Allegations of Abuse

Guzman has claimed she was a victim of abuse at home, which she alleges worsened after she left the Jehovah's Witness religion at age 14. She also claimed she was sexually assaulted by a hospital employee while in custody.

Mary Yoder

 

Mary Louise Yoder (March 18, 1955 – July 22, 2015) was a chiropractor who died of poisoning, allegedly by the receptionist at her practice. The receptionist, Kaitlyn Conley, was convicted of manslaughter in 2018, after a first trial ended in a mistrial. The conviction was overturned on appeal in 2025.

History

Yoder and her husband ran a small chiropractor's office together in Whitesboro, New York. She had been in good health, but her health declined precipitously in July of 2015, ending in her death. Yoder's relatives believed the death was suspicious and contacted law enforcement. An autopsy determined that Yoder's death was caused by the anti-inflammatory drug colchicine, and ruled it a homicide. The Oneida County Sheriff's office received an anonymous letter in November that accused Yoder's son, Adam, of the killing. Adam's jeep was searched, and a bottle of colchicine was found under a seat. However, he was out of town when the poisoning took place, and he said the bottle was planted.

The focus of the investigation centered on Kaitlyn Conley, who worked as a receptionist at the office and had dated Adam Yoder. Conley was charged with second-degree murder in July 2016, accused of having poisoned Yoder at lunch during work. Conley acknowledged writing the letter and maintained that Adam was responsible for the poisoning. At trial, the defense pointed to Mary's husband, Bill, as the killer.

Conley's first trial, in May 2017, failed to produce a unanimous verdict and was declared a mistrial. In a second trial concluding in January 2018, Conley was acquitted of second-degree murder but convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 23 years in prison.

In 2019, the United States Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal by the Utica Observer-Dispatch regarding access to juror questionnaires in Conley's trial.

Conley's conviction was overturned in February 2025, when the New York Court of Appeals ruled that evidence from her cell phone was improperly obtained and should not have been allowed in court. The Oneida County district attorney moved to hold her pending a new indictment. After a county judge denied that motion, she was released from prison.

As of October 2025, the district attorney of Oneida County is pursuing a third trial against Conley. A date of April 2026 was set for arguments before an appeals judge in Rochester regarding sealed evidence.

Media

The poisoning was presented on Forensic Files II, My Favorite Murder, and Crime Watch Daily, and twice on Dateline NBC. Conley was interviewed in the Hulu miniseries Little Miss Innocent.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Mary_Yoder