1 00:00:02,160 --> 00:00:05,316 ♪♪ 2 00:00:05,350 --> 00:00:09,333 Narrator: Up next, this medical professional was obsessed 3 00:00:09,366 --> 00:00:11,150 with staying healthy. 4 00:00:11,183 --> 00:00:13,166 Herbal supplements were her big thing. 5 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:15,333 She was always trying to have everyone healthy. 6 00:00:15,366 --> 00:00:17,333 Narrator: But in a matter of days, 7 00:00:17,366 --> 00:00:20,133 what looks like a disease cuts her down. 8 00:00:20,166 --> 00:00:23,283 Whatever it is just came on, and it killed her. 9 00:00:23,316 --> 00:00:25,383 Narrator: Is she dead from natural causes... 10 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:27,330 [ Flatlining ] 11 00:00:27,660 --> 00:00:29,133 ...or something more sinister? 12 00:00:29,166 --> 00:00:32,830 This is probably the most bizarre case 13 00:00:32,116 --> 00:00:33,350 that I've ever worked on. 14 00:00:33,383 --> 00:00:42,183 ♪♪ 15 00:00:42,216 --> 00:00:50,150 ♪♪ 16 00:00:50,183 --> 00:00:53,300 Narrator: Utica is so far north in New York state 17 00:00:53,333 --> 00:00:57,266 that it's closer to Canada than to New York City. 18 00:00:57,300 --> 00:01:00,183 Locals are proud of their past. 19 00:01:00,216 --> 00:01:03,283 But like a lot of people in Rust Belt communities, 20 00:01:03,316 --> 00:01:05,266 they face an uncertain future. 21 00:01:05,300 --> 00:01:07,500 It's just a beautiful city. 22 00:01:07,830 --> 00:01:08,183 Was a beautiful city. 23 00:01:08,216 --> 00:01:10,000 It's gotten its little hairy parts now, 24 00:01:10,330 --> 00:01:11,233 but it was a beautiful city. 25 00:01:11,266 --> 00:01:14,183 Narrator: Bill and Mary Yoder's chiropractic business 26 00:01:14,216 --> 00:01:17,830 was one of the busiest in the area, 27 00:01:17,116 --> 00:01:18,383 which came as no surprise 28 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:20,383 to their hundreds of loyal patients. 29 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:22,183 Phelps: Mary and Bill -- 30 00:01:22,216 --> 00:01:24,350 they build up this chiropractic business, 31 00:01:24,383 --> 00:01:28,830 and they turn it, really, into a family business 32 00:01:28,116 --> 00:01:32,100 that everybody in Utica really looks to as, 33 00:01:32,133 --> 00:01:33,216 "This is the place to go." 34 00:01:33,250 --> 00:01:35,330 Narrator: The Yoders had been married 35 00:01:35,660 --> 00:01:36,333 for nearly 40 years 36 00:01:36,366 --> 00:01:39,250 and had three grown children. 37 00:01:39,283 --> 00:01:43,350 On July 20, 2015, Bill had the day off 38 00:01:43,383 --> 00:01:46,266 while Mary worked with clients. 39 00:01:46,300 --> 00:01:50,366 But late that afternoon, Mary got sick to her stomach, 40 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:54,830 and this didn't appear like an ordinary bug. 41 00:01:54,116 --> 00:01:55,333 Phelps: Patients report 42 00:01:55,366 --> 00:01:58,000 she's running in and out of the bathroom, 43 00:01:58,330 --> 00:01:59,266 something she never did. 44 00:01:59,300 --> 00:02:02,233 Narrator: Once Mary got home, things got worse 45 00:02:02,266 --> 00:02:06,233 and then spiraled steadily downward. 46 00:02:06,266 --> 00:02:08,333 The next day, she went to the hospital. 47 00:02:08,366 --> 00:02:12,316 Phelps: She's in the E.R., and she is severely ill. 48 00:02:12,350 --> 00:02:14,150 Her legs are swelling. 49 00:02:14,183 --> 00:02:17,660 Her skin is turning green, basically. 50 00:02:17,100 --> 00:02:19,150 They can't figure out what's going on. 51 00:02:19,183 --> 00:02:22,166 Narrator: Mary was known for taking a lot of supplements. 52 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:25,830 Phelps: She lives a kind of green lifestyle. 53 00:02:25,116 --> 00:02:28,000 She only puts healthy things in her body. 54 00:02:28,330 --> 00:02:29,216 Narrator: Could one of those supplements 55 00:02:29,250 --> 00:02:31,116 have caused her illness? 56 00:02:31,150 --> 00:02:34,200 Baffled doctors didn't think this was likely 57 00:02:34,233 --> 00:02:36,660 but couldn't be sure, 58 00:02:36,100 --> 00:02:39,166 and testing on those products could take time, 59 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:41,330 which they didn't have. 60 00:02:41,660 --> 00:02:42,350 They do not have a firm grip 61 00:02:42,383 --> 00:02:45,160 on what has taken place with her. 62 00:02:45,500 --> 00:02:47,316 Narrator: That night, Mary rebounded, 63 00:02:47,350 --> 00:02:49,233 but not for long. 64 00:02:49,266 --> 00:02:53,166 Soon, her whole body, including her heart, 65 00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:55,660 started failing. 66 00:02:55,100 --> 00:02:58,316 Less than 36 hours after being admitted... 67 00:02:58,350 --> 00:03:01,830 [ Flatlining ] ...she was dead. 68 00:03:03,100 --> 00:03:04,266 It all happened so fast 69 00:03:04,300 --> 00:03:07,150 that her family and many in the community 70 00:03:07,183 --> 00:03:09,000 were blindsided. 71 00:03:09,330 --> 00:03:11,000 Groah: I mean, you're shocked. I just saw her. 72 00:03:11,330 --> 00:03:12,100 She just worked on me. 73 00:03:12,133 --> 00:03:13,383 She was fine. 74 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:15,250 So, I was in shock. 75 00:03:15,283 --> 00:03:17,233 She was healthy when I left. 76 00:03:17,266 --> 00:03:21,233 How did Mary go from the healthiest person in the family 77 00:03:21,266 --> 00:03:23,300 to dead? 78 00:03:23,333 --> 00:03:26,316 Narrator: That question confounded doctors, 79 00:03:26,350 --> 00:03:30,383 and Mary's autopsy provided limited answers. 80 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:33,366 Doctors discovered a physiological process 81 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:35,333 called apoptosis. 82 00:03:35,366 --> 00:03:37,116 VanNamee: Mary Yoder's cells 83 00:03:37,150 --> 00:03:39,283 appeared to be attacking themselves, 84 00:03:39,316 --> 00:03:41,216 and that is an indication of a person 85 00:03:41,250 --> 00:03:45,266 who has either undergone a strong dosage of chemotherapy 86 00:03:45,300 --> 00:03:48,183 or had poison introduced into their body. 87 00:03:48,216 --> 00:03:51,366 Narrator: Mary certainly hadn't undergone chemotherapy. 88 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:54,233 In fact, just a few days earlier, 89 00:03:54,266 --> 00:03:57,116 she'd been in perfect health. 90 00:03:57,150 --> 00:04:01,383 Standard toxicology screens all came back negative. 91 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:07,116 Mary's case didn't make any sense to anyone. 92 00:04:07,150 --> 00:04:09,316 So, the Medical Examiner's Office is stuck. 93 00:04:09,350 --> 00:04:11,266 They don't know what killed this woman. 94 00:04:11,300 --> 00:04:13,333 VanNamee: They were looking at every possible angle, 95 00:04:13,366 --> 00:04:16,133 and they just did not have a conclusion. 96 00:04:16,166 --> 00:04:17,283 Narrator: One test result 97 00:04:17,316 --> 00:04:19,266 ultimately did provide the answer 98 00:04:19,300 --> 00:04:22,830 to what killed Mary Yoder. 99 00:04:22,116 --> 00:04:26,283 But that result also raised a host of shocking questions 100 00:04:26,316 --> 00:04:31,350 about how it happened and who might be responsible. 101 00:04:31,383 --> 00:04:35,216 ♪♪ 102 00:04:37,383 --> 00:04:40,330 Narrator: Just three days before her death, 103 00:04:40,660 --> 00:04:42,333 Mary Yoder was the picture of health, 104 00:04:42,366 --> 00:04:46,183 but her autopsy showed a ravaged body. 105 00:04:46,216 --> 00:04:48,333 Her system had sustained the kind of damage 106 00:04:48,366 --> 00:04:50,830 suffered by someone 107 00:04:50,116 --> 00:04:53,333 undergoing long-term intensive chemotherapy. 108 00:04:53,366 --> 00:04:57,150 She wound up having multi-system organ failure 109 00:04:57,183 --> 00:04:59,100 over a very short period of time. 110 00:04:59,133 --> 00:05:03,366 Narrator: Everything pointed to some type of poison. 111 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:06,000 So the medical examiner reached out 112 00:05:06,330 --> 00:05:09,250 to clinical toxicologist Dr. Jeanna Marraffa 113 00:05:09,283 --> 00:05:12,316 with the Upstate New York Poison Control Center. 114 00:05:12,350 --> 00:05:15,350 I was thinking, "Could there be something terribly wrong 115 00:05:15,383 --> 00:05:17,266 with her vitamins and supplements 116 00:05:17,300 --> 00:05:19,366 and it be a contaminant in there?" 117 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:22,100 And as those were quickly ruled out, 118 00:05:22,133 --> 00:05:25,216 then I didn't know the source. 119 00:05:25,250 --> 00:05:27,250 Narrator: Mary's symptoms were distinctive -- 120 00:05:27,283 --> 00:05:29,330 rapid organ failure, 121 00:05:29,660 --> 00:05:31,350 large-scale cell death throughout the body, 122 00:05:31,383 --> 00:05:33,283 cardiac arrest. [ Flatlining ] 123 00:05:33,316 --> 00:05:35,166 It usually signifies that 124 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:37,383 there's some kind of toxin in the body. 125 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:41,100 Narrator: Doctors theorized about a possible culprit, 126 00:05:41,133 --> 00:05:42,383 a drug called "colchicine" 127 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:45,150 that's normally used to treat gout. 128 00:05:45,183 --> 00:05:47,160 Scotti: Jeanna Marraffa looked at all the symptoms, 129 00:05:47,500 --> 00:05:48,133 looked at the medical charts, and said, 130 00:05:48,166 --> 00:05:50,830 "I think you need to test for colchicine." 131 00:05:50,116 --> 00:05:51,300 Marraffa: It's not very common. 132 00:05:51,333 --> 00:05:56,100 I've probably only had 15 colchicine cases in my career. 133 00:05:56,133 --> 00:06:00,330 Narrator: Colchicine works in ways similar to chemotherapy. 134 00:06:00,660 --> 00:06:03,660 It stops the normal process of cell division, 135 00:06:03,100 --> 00:06:06,330 which is good if you have something like gout. 136 00:06:06,660 --> 00:06:09,000 If you don't, it can be a problem. 137 00:06:09,330 --> 00:06:13,330 It's potentially very toxic, so it's used in very low doses 138 00:06:13,660 --> 00:06:17,200 and usually monitored clinically if people are taking it. 139 00:06:18,133 --> 00:06:21,116 Narrator: Mary's blood sample was subjected to a process 140 00:06:21,150 --> 00:06:26,660 called liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry. 141 00:06:26,100 --> 00:06:29,300 The first step is to separate whatever is not blood 142 00:06:29,333 --> 00:06:32,160 from the rest of the blood sample. 143 00:06:32,500 --> 00:06:34,160 Once those compounds are separated, 144 00:06:34,500 --> 00:06:37,830 they can actually enter the mass spectrometer. 145 00:06:37,116 --> 00:06:40,116 Narrator: All compounds have a specific chemical signature 146 00:06:40,150 --> 00:06:42,250 that, once isolated, 147 00:06:42,283 --> 00:06:46,166 produce distinctive waveforms in the mass spectrometer. 148 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:48,383 This is done based on the chemical characteristics 149 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:50,250 and the mass of the compound. 150 00:06:50,283 --> 00:06:53,300 Narrator: In this case, the resulting waveform was measured 151 00:06:53,333 --> 00:06:57,266 against the waveform of a known sample of colchicine. 152 00:06:57,300 --> 00:07:00,330 Mary Yoder's blood was found to have 153 00:07:00,660 --> 00:07:03,150 unusually high concentrations of the drug. 154 00:07:03,183 --> 00:07:05,383 It certainly was a large amount compared to what we see 155 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:08,266 in a clinical therapeutic application. 156 00:07:08,300 --> 00:07:10,500 Marraffa: I received a phone call, 157 00:07:10,830 --> 00:07:12,200 and he said, "You're never gonna believe it, 158 00:07:12,233 --> 00:07:15,283 but the colchicine level is through the roof." 159 00:07:15,316 --> 00:07:18,000 And I said, "Are you sure?" 160 00:07:18,330 --> 00:07:21,000 And he said, "Yes, I have it right here." 161 00:07:21,330 --> 00:07:24,330 Narrator: Mary Yoder had essentially overdosed 162 00:07:24,660 --> 00:07:25,283 on colchicine. 163 00:07:25,316 --> 00:07:29,300 Was her death an accident, a suicide? 164 00:07:29,333 --> 00:07:32,283 No one thought Mary was suicidal. 165 00:07:32,316 --> 00:07:36,150 And there are a lot of easier and less painful ways 166 00:07:36,183 --> 00:07:37,250 to kill yourself 167 00:07:37,283 --> 00:07:41,160 than using an obscure gout medication. 168 00:07:41,500 --> 00:07:43,150 Phelps: No one in the family has gout. 169 00:07:43,183 --> 00:07:45,133 No one they know has gout. 170 00:07:45,166 --> 00:07:47,830 Mary certainly didn't have gout. 171 00:07:47,116 --> 00:07:50,250 How did the colchicine get into her body and kill her? 172 00:07:50,283 --> 00:07:51,366 Narrator: That question landed 173 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:54,216 right in the laps of local police 174 00:07:54,250 --> 00:07:59,366 because Mary's death didn't look like suicide or an accident. 175 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:02,100 Phelps: What does that leave you? 176 00:08:02,133 --> 00:08:04,830 That leaves you with homicide. 177 00:08:04,116 --> 00:08:09,200 That leaves you with somebody deliberately put colchicine 178 00:08:09,233 --> 00:08:14,166 in something that Mary ate or drank that day to kill her. 179 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:16,316 Narrator: But who and why? 180 00:08:16,350 --> 00:08:18,300 In November of 2015, 181 00:08:18,333 --> 00:08:22,183 the Sheriff's Office opened a criminal investigation. 182 00:08:22,216 --> 00:08:24,150 Groah: A detective came to my door, 183 00:08:24,183 --> 00:08:28,100 and he told me that he was investigating a murder. 184 00:08:28,133 --> 00:08:30,300 And I'm like, "Whose murder?" 185 00:08:30,333 --> 00:08:32,166 ♪♪ 186 00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:34,216 And he said, "Mary Yoder." 187 00:08:34,250 --> 00:08:36,500 And I said, 188 00:08:36,830 --> 00:08:37,366 "She wasn't murdered. She just di--" 189 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:40,200 He said, "No. We believe she was murdered." 190 00:08:40,233 --> 00:08:41,366 Narrator: By this time, 191 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:44,266 four months had passed since Mary's death, 192 00:08:44,300 --> 00:08:48,383 and detectives soon learn that a lot of unexpected things 193 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:53,830 had happened with the Yoder family in those four months. 194 00:08:53,116 --> 00:08:55,166 Just because you're not a great husband 195 00:08:55,200 --> 00:08:56,350 doesn't mean you're a murder. 196 00:08:56,383 --> 00:09:00,316 ♪♪ 197 00:09:03,350 --> 00:09:07,250 Narrator: Small towns are pretty much the same the world over. 198 00:09:07,283 --> 00:09:11,150 People know each other, tend to look after each other, 199 00:09:11,183 --> 00:09:15,316 and oftentimes are aware of each other's business. 200 00:09:15,350 --> 00:09:18,330 In Bill and Mary Yoder's town, 201 00:09:18,660 --> 00:09:23,183 local tongues started wagging shortly after Mary's death. 202 00:09:23,216 --> 00:09:27,200 We become aware that Bill Yoder is involved in a relationship 203 00:09:27,233 --> 00:09:29,316 with one of Mary Yoder's older sisters. 204 00:09:29,350 --> 00:09:32,330 Narrator: Their relationship apparently began 205 00:09:32,660 --> 00:09:33,383 soon after Mary died. 206 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:37,366 And that obviously sent up some red flags to us that 207 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:41,250 that had been the motive for killing Mary Yoder. 208 00:09:41,283 --> 00:09:44,333 Narrator: And statistics back up the suspicion. 209 00:09:44,366 --> 00:09:46,330 In the U.S., 210 00:09:46,660 --> 00:09:49,233 nearly three women are killed every day 211 00:09:49,266 --> 00:09:52,366 by current or former romantic partners. 212 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:55,660 Phelps: The first person investigators are gonna look at 213 00:09:55,100 --> 00:09:56,116 is the husband. 214 00:09:56,150 --> 00:10:00,116 So, if Mary Yoder is a bull's-eye, 215 00:10:00,150 --> 00:10:05,660 the first ring around that bull's-eye is Bill Yoder. 216 00:10:05,100 --> 00:10:08,366 Narrator: Bill denied any involvement in Mary's murder. 217 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:11,200 As police check to see if he could have purchased 218 00:10:11,233 --> 00:10:13,333 the murder weapon, colchicine, 219 00:10:13,366 --> 00:10:17,250 the case took yet another bizarre turn. 220 00:10:17,283 --> 00:10:22,660 An anonymous letter arrived at the Medical Examiner's Office. 221 00:10:22,100 --> 00:10:25,133 An identical letter was sent to the sheriff. 222 00:10:25,166 --> 00:10:29,330 Whoever wrote these letters had inside information 223 00:10:29,660 --> 00:10:30,233 on the investigation. 224 00:10:30,266 --> 00:10:33,300 The letter-writer specifically named what the toxin was, 225 00:10:33,333 --> 00:10:35,660 colchicine, 226 00:10:35,100 --> 00:10:38,160 which, at that point, very few people knew that. 227 00:10:38,500 --> 00:10:40,830 Narrator: The letter-writer was in no doubt 228 00:10:40,116 --> 00:10:42,830 about who killed Mary Yoder. 229 00:10:42,116 --> 00:10:45,366 Phelps: It points specifically to Adam Yoder, the son. 230 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:50,830 And it also claims that Adam Yoder had motive 231 00:10:50,116 --> 00:10:51,250 to kill his mother -- 232 00:10:51,283 --> 00:10:53,383 that he was going to get some money out of this. 233 00:10:54,160 --> 00:10:56,100 Narrator: The letter said the bottle of colchicine, 234 00:10:56,133 --> 00:10:58,660 the murder weapon, 235 00:10:58,100 --> 00:11:02,830 was under the front seat of Adam's Jeep. 236 00:11:02,116 --> 00:11:05,283 Adam was called in for an interview with police 237 00:11:05,316 --> 00:11:09,200 and was stunned when told he was a person of interest 238 00:11:09,233 --> 00:11:11,330 in his mother's murder. 239 00:11:11,660 --> 00:11:14,200 We tell him that we would like to look in his Jeep, 240 00:11:14,233 --> 00:11:16,350 under the seat, right where this letter directs us. 241 00:11:16,383 --> 00:11:19,830 You could have probably tipped him over with a father. 242 00:11:19,116 --> 00:11:22,100 Narrator: A shaken Adam Yoder asked for an attorney, 243 00:11:22,133 --> 00:11:26,830 who promptly told him to consent to the search of his Jeep. 244 00:11:26,116 --> 00:11:30,330 And, sure enough, just as the letter indicated, 245 00:11:30,660 --> 00:11:33,350 a bottle of colchicine was found under the front seat. 246 00:11:33,383 --> 00:11:35,166 VanNamee: I wanted to see his reaction, 247 00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:38,283 and I can recall him smoking a cigarette, 248 00:11:38,316 --> 00:11:40,316 and the cigarette almost fell out of his mouth, 249 00:11:40,350 --> 00:11:42,283 like he was in such shock 250 00:11:42,316 --> 00:11:44,383 of what we had pulled out of his truck. 251 00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:46,233 Narrator: With the bottle was a receipt 252 00:11:46,266 --> 00:11:48,133 for the colchicine purchase, 253 00:11:48,166 --> 00:11:50,316 and it had an e-mail address. 254 00:11:50,350 --> 00:11:54,250 Adam said he had no idea how the drug got in his Jeep 255 00:11:54,283 --> 00:11:57,160 and that this e-mail address wasn't his. 256 00:11:57,500 --> 00:11:58,250 He said he'd never seen that e-mail, 257 00:11:58,283 --> 00:12:02,200 that wasn't his e-mail, and he'd never used that e-mail. 258 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:08,000 Narrator: Adam told police he thought he was being framed, 259 00:12:08,330 --> 00:12:11,500 and they didn't think this was so far-fetched. 260 00:12:11,830 --> 00:12:13,500 Phelps: This guy drives his Jeep 261 00:12:13,830 --> 00:12:14,216 to the Sheriff's Department 262 00:12:14,250 --> 00:12:18,660 with the colchicine that killed his mother? 263 00:12:18,100 --> 00:12:19,300 "Hell, no," they're saying. 264 00:12:19,333 --> 00:12:21,300 We don't buy that. 265 00:12:21,333 --> 00:12:23,166 Who would keep the toxin in their car 266 00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:25,266 and then bring their car up to the Sheriff's Office 267 00:12:25,300 --> 00:12:27,216 and consent to the search of it? 268 00:12:27,250 --> 00:12:29,366 It didn't make any sense. 269 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:32,200 Narrator: Amid all this misdirection, 270 00:12:32,233 --> 00:12:36,333 investigators were coming to an unavoidable conclusion. 271 00:12:36,366 --> 00:12:38,200 Whoever wrote the letter 272 00:12:38,233 --> 00:12:42,500 was probably the person that killed Mary Yoder. 273 00:12:42,830 --> 00:12:45,660 Narrator: The investigation now centered on the envelopes 274 00:12:45,100 --> 00:12:46,316 with the anonymous letters, 275 00:12:46,350 --> 00:12:49,330 which were typewritten, 276 00:12:49,660 --> 00:12:50,283 the bottle of colchicine, 277 00:12:50,316 --> 00:12:54,183 which was found inside a small cardboard sleeve, 278 00:12:54,216 --> 00:12:58,500 and the prescription receipt with the e-mail address. 279 00:12:58,830 --> 00:13:00,250 Everything was tested for DNA, 280 00:13:00,283 --> 00:13:02,266 and when those results came back, 281 00:13:02,300 --> 00:13:05,366 investigators got yet another shock. 282 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:09,316 You know what is found on that bottle and the cardboard? 283 00:13:09,350 --> 00:13:11,100 Female DNA. 284 00:13:11,133 --> 00:13:15,330 Narrator: And that DNA was not Mary Yoder's. 285 00:13:15,660 --> 00:13:18,330 Could the DNA reveal who had handled 286 00:13:18,660 --> 00:13:21,116 this highly unusual murder weapon? 287 00:13:21,150 --> 00:13:26,330 Which now throws this case into an entire new direction. 288 00:13:26,660 --> 00:13:30,350 ♪♪ 289 00:13:33,330 --> 00:13:36,160 Narrator: The envelopes containing the anonymous letters 290 00:13:36,500 --> 00:13:39,500 implicating Adam Yoder in his mother's murder 291 00:13:39,830 --> 00:13:41,160 were typewritten -- 292 00:13:41,500 --> 00:13:45,830 not exactly a regular occurrence in 2015. 293 00:13:45,116 --> 00:13:49,116 The office in the Yoders' business had a typewriter. 294 00:13:49,150 --> 00:13:51,830 Detectives were curious. 295 00:13:51,116 --> 00:13:53,283 Bill says to him, "Look, you don't need a search warrant. 296 00:13:53,316 --> 00:13:56,133 Go. Carte blanche, go in that office. 297 00:13:56,166 --> 00:13:58,500 Take whatever you want. I don't care. 298 00:13:58,830 --> 00:13:59,233 I'm an open book." 299 00:13:59,266 --> 00:14:02,133 Narrator: Analysts dismantle the typewriter, 300 00:14:02,166 --> 00:14:05,200 which only four people had access to -- 301 00:14:05,233 --> 00:14:08,100 Bill and Mary Yoder, Adam Yoder, 302 00:14:08,133 --> 00:14:13,160 and the office receptionist, Kaity Conley. 303 00:14:13,500 --> 00:14:14,216 Scotti: The examination of the typewriter ribbon 304 00:14:14,250 --> 00:14:17,183 really went back to old-school police work. 305 00:14:17,216 --> 00:14:19,283 VanNamee: The cartridge was taken apart, 306 00:14:19,316 --> 00:14:21,283 and the used ribbon was cut 307 00:14:21,316 --> 00:14:24,183 into approximately 2-to-3-foot lengths 308 00:14:24,216 --> 00:14:26,283 and placed on a white posterboard, 309 00:14:26,316 --> 00:14:28,116 and you could actually read 310 00:14:28,150 --> 00:14:30,300 every keystroke that that typewriter had made. 311 00:14:30,333 --> 00:14:33,660 Narrator: And those keystrokes showed the addresses 312 00:14:33,100 --> 00:14:36,383 of the Medical Examiner and the Sheriff's Office -- 313 00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:40,216 the destinations of the anonymous letters. 314 00:14:40,250 --> 00:14:42,500 This proved the envelopes 315 00:14:42,830 --> 00:14:45,830 that contained the letters implicating Adam Yoder 316 00:14:45,116 --> 00:14:48,350 had been typed on this machine. 317 00:14:48,383 --> 00:14:53,500 22-year-old Kaity Conley was confronted with this evidence 318 00:14:53,830 --> 00:14:57,830 and admitted straight away that she was the letter-writer. 319 00:14:57,116 --> 00:14:59,200 I specifically asked Kaity Conley, 320 00:14:59,233 --> 00:15:01,266 "Did you write us the anonymous letter?" 321 00:15:01,300 --> 00:15:05,100 And her response to me is, "You can't protect me." 322 00:15:15,383 --> 00:15:19,266 Narrator: Kaity said she was terrified of Adam Yoder, 323 00:15:19,300 --> 00:15:21,830 that Adam killed his mother, 324 00:15:21,116 --> 00:15:24,183 and that she wrote the anonymous letters to expose him. 325 00:15:24,216 --> 00:15:29,233 She made Adam seem out to be a monster. 326 00:15:29,266 --> 00:15:31,233 Narrator: It turned out that Kaity and Adam Yoder 327 00:15:31,266 --> 00:15:34,383 had dated off and on for a few years. 328 00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:37,333 But about a year before the murder, 329 00:15:37,366 --> 00:15:40,000 Adam broke off the relationship. 330 00:15:40,330 --> 00:15:43,350 Kaity had a reputation back in high school 331 00:15:43,383 --> 00:15:45,250 for getting back at boyfriends. 332 00:15:45,283 --> 00:15:49,660 You know, the old scorned lover -- that was her. 333 00:15:49,100 --> 00:15:50,366 Adam broke up with her. 334 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:52,200 What is she going to do next? 335 00:15:52,233 --> 00:15:53,350 Well, she's gonna take away from Adam 336 00:15:53,383 --> 00:15:56,133 the thing that he loves the most. 337 00:15:56,166 --> 00:15:57,166 That's his mother. 338 00:15:57,200 --> 00:15:58,316 Narrator: Kaity told detectives 339 00:15:58,350 --> 00:16:01,150 that she knew nothing about colchicine, 340 00:16:01,183 --> 00:16:03,183 but that Adam did. 341 00:16:12,166 --> 00:16:13,300 ♪♪ 342 00:16:13,333 --> 00:16:17,160 The keys seem to lie in the e-mail address 343 00:16:17,500 --> 00:16:19,250 found with the bottle of colchicine, 344 00:16:19,283 --> 00:16:21,116 an online record created 345 00:16:21,150 --> 00:16:23,216 when the drug was purchased over the Internet. 346 00:16:23,250 --> 00:16:25,300 VanNamee: Whoever has control of that Gmail account 347 00:16:25,333 --> 00:16:28,116 is the one that purchased this colchicine. 348 00:16:28,150 --> 00:16:31,100 Narrator: The e-mail address was on a Google Account. 349 00:16:31,133 --> 00:16:33,216 The company couldn't provide the name, 350 00:16:33,250 --> 00:16:35,216 but they could provide what's called 351 00:16:35,250 --> 00:16:39,366 an Internet protocol, or IP, address. 352 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:42,133 Martino: It's very similar to the phone system. 353 00:16:42,166 --> 00:16:43,366 Only one phone can have 354 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:46,166 a specific phone number at any time. 355 00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:48,133 Otherwise, it doesn't work. 356 00:16:48,166 --> 00:16:50,000 Narrator: The Internet service provider 357 00:16:50,330 --> 00:16:51,150 was able to backtrack 358 00:16:51,183 --> 00:16:54,333 when e-mails were sent from that IP address, 359 00:16:54,366 --> 00:16:57,350 and GPS could also give a good idea 360 00:16:57,383 --> 00:17:01,330 where the e-mails had been sent from. 361 00:17:01,660 --> 00:17:04,316 By knowing when and where they were sent, 362 00:17:04,350 --> 00:17:09,266 investigators had a good idea of who had sent them. 363 00:17:09,300 --> 00:17:12,366 There are only two devices that have any nexus 364 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:14,200 to that Gmail account at all. 365 00:17:14,233 --> 00:17:17,100 One of them is Kaitlyn Conley's cellphone, 366 00:17:17,133 --> 00:17:21,000 and the other is the computer at the chiropractic office 367 00:17:21,330 --> 00:17:23,330 that Kaitlyn Conley uses. 368 00:17:23,660 --> 00:17:26,116 Narrator: Analysts searched Kaity's devices 369 00:17:26,150 --> 00:17:28,116 and found that large amounts of data 370 00:17:28,150 --> 00:17:30,200 had been deleted from her cellphone 371 00:17:30,233 --> 00:17:33,500 shortly after Mary's murder. 372 00:17:33,830 --> 00:17:37,266 However, in a twist that would upend the investigation, 373 00:17:37,300 --> 00:17:41,183 Adam claimed he and Kaity briefly reunited 374 00:17:41,216 --> 00:17:43,216 after Mary's murder. 375 00:17:43,250 --> 00:17:45,160 During this period, 376 00:17:45,500 --> 00:17:49,150 Kaity backed up her phone on Adam's computer, 377 00:17:49,183 --> 00:17:54,160 and almost all her deleted data was there. 378 00:17:54,500 --> 00:17:55,183 Martino: It was the light-bulb moment. 379 00:17:55,216 --> 00:17:58,830 It brought back thousands of pictures 380 00:17:58,116 --> 00:18:00,330 and images and screenshots. 381 00:18:00,660 --> 00:18:02,133 Scotti: There was -- several searches had been done 382 00:18:02,166 --> 00:18:03,366 regarding colchicine. 383 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:07,266 One talked about the cardiac impact of colchicine. 384 00:18:07,300 --> 00:18:09,183 Another talked about how you treat people 385 00:18:09,216 --> 00:18:11,316 who have been poisoned by colchicine. 386 00:18:11,350 --> 00:18:14,200 Narrator: By this time, the unknown female DNA 387 00:18:14,233 --> 00:18:17,316 found with the bottle of colchicine in Adam's car 388 00:18:17,350 --> 00:18:21,660 was matched to Kaity Conley. 389 00:18:21,100 --> 00:18:26,283 In June of 2016, she was charged with second-degree murder. 390 00:18:26,316 --> 00:18:28,333 At trial, prosecutors argued 391 00:18:28,366 --> 00:18:32,660 that she had planned Mary Yoder's murder for months. 392 00:18:32,100 --> 00:18:35,316 This is a well-planned-out, cold, calculated thing. 393 00:18:35,350 --> 00:18:38,830 Lisi: I think initially what her intent was -- 394 00:18:38,116 --> 00:18:40,200 "I'm going to kill Mary Yoder. 395 00:18:40,233 --> 00:18:42,500 That'll bring Adam back to me. 396 00:18:42,830 --> 00:18:43,266 I'll get back in his good graces," 397 00:18:43,300 --> 00:18:45,333 and, in fact, that's really what happened 398 00:18:45,366 --> 00:18:48,160 shortly after the homicide. 399 00:18:48,500 --> 00:18:49,283 Narrator: Prosecutors say Kaity was able 400 00:18:49,316 --> 00:18:52,160 to buy the colchicine online 401 00:18:52,500 --> 00:18:55,183 by going through the Yoders' chiropractic business. 402 00:18:55,216 --> 00:18:57,150 The evidence appears to indicate 403 00:18:57,183 --> 00:19:00,383 she spiked a protein shake with so much colchicine 404 00:19:01,160 --> 00:19:04,283 that Mary Yoder overdosed almost immediately. 405 00:19:04,316 --> 00:19:07,830 When Kaity tried to throw off investigators 406 00:19:07,116 --> 00:19:09,166 by writing the anonymous letters, 407 00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:11,200 she didn't realize the typewriter 408 00:19:11,233 --> 00:19:13,383 could be tied back to her. 409 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:16,283 She also didn't know that the e-mail address, 410 00:19:16,316 --> 00:19:19,150 the one she thought could keep her anonymous, 411 00:19:19,183 --> 00:19:21,350 would not only reveal her identity, 412 00:19:21,383 --> 00:19:26,660 it would show how she searched online for the colchicine, 413 00:19:26,100 --> 00:19:30,250 a murder weapon she thought no one would ever discover. 414 00:19:30,283 --> 00:19:32,200 Finally, despite all her attempts 415 00:19:32,233 --> 00:19:35,133 to frame Adam Yoder for the murder, 416 00:19:35,166 --> 00:19:38,216 Kaity's DNA, not Adam's, 417 00:19:38,250 --> 00:19:42,100 was on the key pieces of evidence. 418 00:19:42,133 --> 00:19:44,266 Groah: I had such a tough time 419 00:19:44,300 --> 00:19:47,830 thinking that she would do that 420 00:19:47,116 --> 00:19:48,200 because she was such -- 421 00:19:48,233 --> 00:19:51,300 she was such a sweet girl in that office. 422 00:19:51,333 --> 00:19:53,366 I mean, I talked to her all the time. 423 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:56,000 There's no way I believed that she would do it. 424 00:19:56,330 --> 00:19:57,383 Narrator: She wasn't the only one. 425 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:01,200 The jury in Kaity's first trial couldn't reach a verdict. 426 00:20:01,233 --> 00:20:03,233 Lisi: I just remember honestly going out, 427 00:20:03,266 --> 00:20:05,160 walking to my car, 428 00:20:05,500 --> 00:20:06,300 crying for about two minutes in the parking lot, 429 00:20:06,333 --> 00:20:07,333 and then saying, 430 00:20:07,366 --> 00:20:09,183 "Okay, that's it. That's enough. 431 00:20:09,216 --> 00:20:10,383 It's time to get back to work 432 00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:13,183 and see if we can put this case together again." 433 00:20:13,216 --> 00:20:15,500 Narrator: And that's what happened. 434 00:20:15,830 --> 00:20:19,500 In a second trial, in November of 2017, 435 00:20:19,830 --> 00:20:23,133 Kaity Conley was found guilty of first-degree manslaughter 436 00:20:23,166 --> 00:20:26,333 and sentenced to 23 years in prison. 437 00:20:26,366 --> 00:20:29,383 She still maintains her innocence, 438 00:20:30,160 --> 00:20:33,100 but the DNA, the evidence from the typewriter, 439 00:20:33,133 --> 00:20:36,133 the attempted frame-up, the Web searches, 440 00:20:36,166 --> 00:20:38,150 and the purchase of the colchicine 441 00:20:38,183 --> 00:20:41,200 all pointed in one direction -- 442 00:20:41,233 --> 00:20:45,660 to a young woman with a bizarre motive for murder. 443 00:20:45,100 --> 00:20:47,250 VanNamee: A lot of people have had a difficult or a tough time 444 00:20:47,283 --> 00:20:50,183 accepting the fact that Kaitlyn Conley is guilty 445 00:20:50,216 --> 00:20:52,233 for the death of Mary Yoder. 446 00:20:52,266 --> 00:20:55,200 But when you look at all the forensics in the case 447 00:20:55,233 --> 00:20:58,166 and everything leads you back to one person 448 00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:00,200 and that's Kaitlyn Conley, 449 00:21:00,233 --> 00:21:03,300 there's no doubt that she was guilty and responsible.