Test of faith: Killing shocks congregation

Keith Morrison Correspondent • Profile

Everyone said it was such a good fit, the new pastor and his rural flock. And a good thing, too, given what was going to happen: the sacrilege in God's house. Wasn't a soul alive who could’ve predicted that. Certainly not the big handsome ex-golf pro - Greg Shreaves - who had traded in his clubs for a clerical collar here at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran, Buck's County, Pa.

Pastor Greg Shreaves: I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd end up being a pastor at a-- at a Lutheran church, or any church, for that matter.

And it was not so much a revelation that made him see the wisdom of pursuing this new life that got him through the seminary in about half the time it normally takes. No, maybe he finally just came to understand this was probably what he ought to be doing in the latter part of his life.

Pastor Greg Shreaves: I love dealing with people and the-- the joys and the sorrows of their lives.

And out here, of all places. A real country parsonage.

Pastor Greg Shreaves: And I often measure this congregation by the hands I see at communion every Sunday-- with the furrows and the fingers- and the dirt under the nails.

He had taken the time, as had the members, to find the right place - he liked them and they quite clearly liked him.

Sue Brunner: He's a wonderful pastor, you know, we wanted him. He wanted to come to us, in this little town, where there's not a whole lot happening.

Deep Buck's County: This is where good country Lutherans still value tradition and community and their old church, the reassuring history of things. Members who fought the Revolutionary War are scattered beneath the grass back here.

Pastor Greg Shreaves: This congregation has been worshipping regularly in this building since 1763-- before there was a United States of America.

So now he was Pastor Shreaves.  Had a good sound to it.

Sue Brunner sings in the choir.

Sue Brunner: His compassion for people, his-- his w-- his way with people-- he seemed so caring.

It was inevitable, probably, that of the few women would respond to the dashing bachelor pastor - innocent crushes, most likely - though there was no sign whatsoever at all that Greg Shreaves was anything but the soul of rectitude when he offered himself as sounding board or adviser. He didn't seem to notice the darting looks, extra attention, the attempts at mothering. Though church council President Paul Rose certainly did.

Paul Rose: Unfortunately for him, he's single and he's handsome.

There was the cheerful teasing from the happily married ladies of the church.  Sexton Judy Zellner and choir member Sue Brunner were just two among many.  Lots of characters in a county church: neighbors, friends, occasionally, like all of us, gossips.

There was the slightly eccentric Mary Jane Fonder, always around, like a resident maiden aunt.

Keith Morrison: Nice person.

Paul Rose: Yeah. A little eccentric sometime, but aren't we all.(laughs) Imagine there are people sayin' that about me someplace.

Then there was the new girl - Rhonda Smith - though, at 42, she was not such a girl anymore. When Rhonda showed up, Judy could see she needed someone.

Judy Zellner: She needed a friend and I was there for her.

But for Rhonda, it was the pastor who seemed to be a lifeline.

Sue Brunner: Maybe that's kind of what kept her comin' back.  'Ya know, his-- his-- his sermons.  And the way he is with people.

Pastor Greg Shreaves: I suppose I met with her a half-dozen times in my office.

As he had done with other parishioners, men and women.

Pastor Greg Shreaves: She would tell me that she had no money to pay her rent.  She had no money for medication.

Rhonda's bipolar disorder had filled her life with trouble, trouble supporting herself, trouble holding a job.

Pastor Greg Shreaves: She was very fragile at times.  And then there were other times when she was fine.

And if anybody wanted to harbor some tabloid fantasy about the pastor's help for Rhonda.. well, that's what it was: a fantasy.

Pastor Greg Shreaves: People who know me here know that it’s not something I would ever do.  I was her pastor, and that's all I was.

In isolation, the unusual events, when they began to happen, didn't seem so terribly significant, though they certainly would later. There was the day, for example, when he learned that good, attentive ministering can present its own special hazards. It was when one of those friendly women of the church was helping the pastor prepare for Sunday service.

Pastor Greg Shreaves: It just never crossed my mind that-- what started out as some kind of an-- infatuation would have led to where it did.

At some point she said to me, you know, you can't deny what's going on between us and, at that point, I had to stop the conversation and a boundary had been crossed in my mind. And she got very upset.  I mean, she got really upset. 

Then there was that Sunday as fate was closing in, when Rhonda Smith got up in church - a rare thing for these old-fashioned Lutherans…

Judy Zellner: It was emotional. We had tears in our eyes.

...to thank the parishioners for the secret spiritual and financial help they'd been giving her.

Perhaps God in his wisdom understands these things.  Did he allow it to happen?  Was he, that Wednesday morning, not watching? It was the 23rd of January, 2008. The sexton, Judy Zellner - as she had  done so many times - turned into the old churchyard about 12:30 p.m.  It was cleaning day.  Cleaning is what a sexton does.

Judy Zellner: And there was a car in parking lot, but I had to use the ladies room so bad, I just parked my car, and came to the door, and went, and put my key in, and the door opened already.  I mean, it was--

Keith Morrison: So it wasn't locked.

Video   A polite churchgoer, or something else? Michael Applebaum, Mary Jane Fonder's defense attorney, and Prosecutor Dave Zellis discuss Fonder’s demeanor throughout the investigation into the murder she was suspected of. Dateline NBC

Judy Zellner: It wasn't locked.  And I said to myself, "whoever's in this church is gonna get a piece of my mind."

Keith Morrison: 'cause it's supposed to be locked.

Judy Zellner: 'cause it's supposed to be locked.

It was that on her mind as she crossed the threshold.  As she opened the door to the church office, as her eyes caught the presence behind the desk...

Judy Zellner: I didn't even see who it was. I knew her hair was brown, and it was flowing in this blood.

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