TRUE CRIME FRIDAY: The Case of Mary Yoder

Ninetoes takes a look at a poisoning case from New York. He asks if a supposedly guilty woman will walk free in the end…

Hey there, true crime lovers! It is your favorite investigator, Ninetoes, and I am on the beat with The Case of Mary Yoder. I have my notebook in hand and coffee in my system, so let’s get to it!

Before I get started, I wish to give a shout-out to my friend Jyl Glenn for bringing this case to my attention. Thank you very much, Jyl!

Mary Yoder and her husband William founded Chiropractic Family Care in Whitesboro, NY. Mary received her doctorate in chiropractic medicine in 1986. The couple had two daughters, Tamaryn and Liana, and a son, Adam. Life was good for the family. Mary and Bill became grandparents. Their business was thriving. They were living the American dream.

All of that changed on the afternoon of July 20, 2015.

Mary Yoder started to feel ill while attending to one of her patients. Her condition did not improve overnight, so she went to the hospital and was admitted. After an examination, the doctors told her family that she would most likely be discharged the following morning.

On July 22, 2015, Mary suddenly went into cardiac arrest and was declared dead at the Faxton-St. Luke’s Healthcare Center in Utica, NY. Her autopsy would not be performed for a few months. When it was, it was discovered that she had died from Colchicine poisoning. When the police were informed that it was a case of poisoning, an investigation was launched.

Mary’s husband and son went to the top of the suspect list immediately. Her husband, Bill, was having an affair with her sister. The investigation into Bill’s whereabouts and any possible motive crossed him off the list. The investigator then focused on her son, Adam. An anonymous letter was sent to the police informing them that an empty Colchicine bottle could be found under the passenger seat of his car.

Adam allowed the investigators permission to search his car, and the Colchicine bottle was right where the letter said it would be. There was just one problem. Adam was on Long Island, visiting his sister, when he was informed of his mother’s death. He was there all week long up until that time. The investigation hit a dead end at this point.

Then, the investigators interviewed Kaitlyn Conley, who was the receptionist at the Yoder’s chiropractic clinic, and Adam’s ex-girlfriend. She admitted that she sent the letter that implicated Adam in the death of his mother. The police investigated her relationship with Adam and found that she thought he was unfaithful to her, and at one point, she alleged that Adam had sexually assaulted her and tried to choke her. They eventually broke up, but she continued to work for his parents.

Then, investigators dug into her online history around the time of the murder and found that she had searched for lethal poisons and created a fake email ID of Adam in order to obtain the poison and frame him. The investigator’s theory was that she put a lethal amount of Colchicine in Mary’s drink in order to get revenge on Adam for breaking up with her. Kaitlyn Conley was arrested in June 2016 and charged with second-degree murder in the death of Mary Yoder.

Kaitlyn Conley’s trial was in April 2017. Despite having strong evidence, the jury was deadlocked, and a mistrial was declared. Her second trial happened in November 2017. The jury found her not guilty of second-degree murder but found her guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter. She was sentenced to 23 years in prison.

Her sentence was overturned in February 2025. The New York Court of Appeals ruled that the evidence from her cell phone was improperly obtained and should not have been allowed into evidence. The Oneida District Attorney moved to hold her in prison until her next trial. The county judge denied that motion, and Kaitlyn Conley was released from prison.

Her next trial will be sometime in April 2025. I will keep you posted on the outcome of that trial.

Until the next time, I bid you successful investigating.

Darren “Ninetoes” Perdue is a book and media reviewer. When he is not reading, he is watching true crime shows, cooking for his family, or working on a plan for universal domination. If you see him on his porch, say hi. He does not bite…much.

PLEASE NOTE: The views and opinions of the staff of Memento Mori Ink do not necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or Crystal Lake Publishing. Thank you for understanding.