Police Arrest Suspect In Church Murder

On Jan. 23, a woman was found shot to death at the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Springfield, Bucks County. Yesterday, the police arrested the alleged murderer and say she shot the victim because she was getting more attention from the pastor.

State police say Mary Jane Fonder, 65, thought Rhonda Smith was getting more attention from the Rev. Gregory Shreaves and believed there was a romantic relationship as well. (There wasn’t, cops say.) So she went to the church before her hair salon appointment and allegedly shot her twice.

The Rev. had rebuffed her advances and had her number blocked. And why not: “Once, she went into his unlocked house, leaving food in his refrigerator,” the Courier-Times writes. This is the kind of scandal you don’t get in a Catholic Church, at least.

Police: Jealousy spurred murder [Bucks County Courier Times]