How Did a Healthy Chiropractor Die Within 48 Hours? | Forensic Files

Hi Crime Junkies, I'm your host Ashley Flowers. >> And I'm Britt. And the story I have for
you today is [music] more like 10 stories in one with twists and turns and betrayals that sound like they've been
ripped from a screenplay. Because it starts in the most ordinary way. A woman goes to work, feels sick, and
everyone assumes it's just a bug. But within 2 days, she's dead. And what initially seems like a medical mystery
unravels into a murder investigation that divided a family >> [music] >> and a community.
This is the story of Mary Yoder. In late August 2015, a woman named Janine is taking her mom to a doctor's
appointment in Central New York near Utica. This should be a routine visit, but it's anything but. You see, Janine
had just suffered a devastating loss. Her sister, Mary Yoder, had died suddenly and unexpectedly [music]
just a month before in that very same medical complex. And truly, when I say suddenly, her 60-year-old sister went
[music] from being totally fine, like chipper, working a normal day at her chiropractic office, to being violently
ill, put in the ICU, and having to be revived seven times until her heart finally gave out [music] and she died,
all within less than 48 hours. >> Did she have heart issues? No, Mary was strong and healthy. The only medical
condition she had were mild asthma and high cholesterol. Nothing that should have caused her death. So, you can
imagine the trauma that this medical [music] complex holds for Janine and how difficult this appointment is for her.
[music] Because not only is she right near where her sister died, but her mom's doctor actually was the one who
was Mary's regular doctor. He had overseen her care when she was hospitalized. So, naturally, at this appointment, Mary
comes up. Now, Janine and her mom and siblings were under the impression that Mary died of ascending cholangitis,
which is this infection of the bile ducts. But according to Janine, when she mentioned that to the doctor, he looked
kind of taken aback, like confused even. And he told Janine, that was never a real diagnosis, just one of the many
possibilities tossed out like early on after Mary came in. Like when they couldn't figure out what was making her
sick or why her heart kept giving out. All they really knew at that point, even when she's coming there to the doctor,
is that they didn't know how she died. And they were still waiting for toxicology testing to tell them more.
But before Janine left, the doctor asked her something. Where's the husband? The
implication feels clear to Janine in that moment. And the whole drive home, her mind is just spinning. And that's
when something hits her. Bill Yoder, Mary's husband, had her cremated just days after she died, even though no one
knew what killed her. And she just can't make sense of things. Bill and Mary's daughter, Leanna, who's actually a
doctor herself, had been telling family that Mary died of that infection. So, she contacts Leanna again, and when she
presses her on it, Leanna confirms, no, that is not what killed her. And yes, she's been cremated, but that was after
samples were taken. The toxicology testing that Mary's doctor mentioned was still underway. And as it turns out,
that testing was extensive. [music] Because from the second that the pathologist, Dr. Kenneth Clark, began
Mary's autopsy, he knew something was very wrong. Her organs were discolored, almost like her body had already started
decomposing while she was still alive. And under a microscope, her tissue showed signs of a massive toxic attack,
[music] as if she had undergone aggressive chemotherapy, which she hadn't, like ever. So, Dr. Clark tests for all the
usual poison suspects, right? Like arsenic, cyanide. But when those come back negative, he works with poison
control resources trying to match Mary's symptoms [music] to something in their database. And this
stretches on all the way through August and into September. But finally, nearly 2 months after
Mary's death, they figure it out. Mary died from an overdose of colchicine. I've never heard of that.
>> Most people haven't. I hadn't before this case. Colchicine is typically used to treat
gout. But Mary didn't have gout. So, there is no reason that she should have been
taking it at all, let alone the amount found in her system, which was enough to kill her many, many times over.
>> And I assume this isn't like an over-the-counter kind of thing. >> No, no, no, no. You need a prescription.
And it's not like there's like a street market for this thing either. >> gout. >> Right. So, at first, poison control and
everyone is thinking that there could be basically like accidental waste [music]
that's gotten into her system. Both of which they need to identify fast because other people could be at risk. And so,
the first thought they have is, okay, she could have gotten it through contact with plants. Mary was this avid gardener
and colchicine comes from a plant. So, maybe she ingested something that she grew. Okay, I don't know the ins and
outs of this drug, but I feel like you'd probably have to ingest a lot of a plant
to die from it. And I I don't see that happening by accident. >> It actually doesn't take that much. The
lethal dose is remarkably low, but there is a second, even scarier possibility. Mary was known to take a lot of
supplements, a lot of vitamins, and she even sold them out of her practice. So, they start thinking like, oh my god,
what if something that she was taking got contaminated during manufacturing? At least if it was her garden, the
problem would be contained to her household. >> Right. With this, I mean, they could be
looking at a public health crisis. So, [music] they have her family go and collect and
turn over everything they can find that she took regularly. And even though it seems far-fetched, they do go even check
her garden. But everything comes back clean. The simplest explanations are all getting
ruled out. And without those scenarios, it's hard not to go somewhere darker. Like maybe
someone did this on purpose. And with that one doctor's words [music] echoing in Janine's mind, she starts sharing her
suspicions with another of her sister, Sharon. They feel like, you know, they've been pretty much in the dark.
They keep expecting to hear an update or to be contacted by police or something,
but it feels like nothing is happening. So, in mid-October, Sharon contacts the Oneida County Sheriff's Office herself.
And she's like, hey, I'm just calling to see if you know [music] what's going on
with my sister Mary Yoder's mysterious death. And they're like, what? Never heard of it. Like, what are you
talking about? And she's like, my sister, she died of this overdose from a random medication that she wasn't even
taking, and we're all over here just like waiting for someone to tell us what happened. But the lieutenant confirms,
there is no open case on Mary Yoder. Did she call the wrong jurisdiction? Oh, no.
It takes some figuring out, but what it seems like is that the ME never notified
the authorities of the findings. And oddly enough, Bill didn't either. But once the Sheriff's Office knows
what's what, they quickly open a case with Lieutenant Robert Nelson and Investigator Mark Van Namey at the helm.
They know that poisoning requires access and opportunity. If this was intentional, it had to be someone close
to her. So, it's no surprise that they look at Bill first. And not just because he's the husband. I mean, there is
literally no one else anyone can think of. Mary is the last person you would expect something like this to happen to.
She had the most unassuming, happy life. Like she and her husband owned their own
practice. They were both chiropractors. And Mary especially was like adored by her patients, some of which had been
seeing her for decades. She was a staple in the community. And her hobbies were simple, too. Like she loved wellness and
fitness and gardening. And her life was just full of people who really loved her. Her three adult children, she had
grandkids, a bunch of siblings and friends, and Bill, who has been her husband of nearly 40 years. Now,
according to Bill, he and Mary were happy. No affairs, no major issues. I mean, they had big plans for the future,
including this upcoming trip to Europe that they had both been excited about. [music]
And by some accounts, he was barely functioning after she [music] died. But a group of Mary's sisters, Janine,
Sharon, and Sally, [music] they're just not so sure that's true. They say that the marriage had problems, including
[music] financial stress. And it raised eyebrows that Bill took monthly solo weekend trips to a hotel, supposedly to
write. Like he had published a couple of self-help books. They worked together, though, right? Like
I know I guess like the solo trips feels like maybe they needed some time apart. Like just some space.
>> Yeah, they had worked together their whole career, but recently, Bill had I guess scaled back
some. Like the office was open 3 days a week, and Bill and Mary's shifts were often split or rotated with Mary seeing
more patients while Bill focused on like the business or back end of things, like
finances, administrative stuff. But even still, like I mean, I get what you're saying. Everyone finds like what works
for them, especially if you like work together. I'm not reading into the like solo trips too much either. But the
sisters also have questions about his behavior when Mary was hospitalized. Some cases fade from headlines. Some
never made it there to begin with. I'm Ashley Flowers, and on [music] my podcast, The Deck, I tell you the
stories of cold cases featured [music] on playing cards distributed in prisons designed to spark new leads and bring
long overdue justice because these stories deserve to be heard and the loved ones of these victims still
deserve answers. Are you ready to be dealt in? Listen to the deck now wherever you get your podcasts.
Remember, Mary's health deteriorated fast. It's not like she was hospitalized for weeks or months. We're talking less
than 48 hours here starting on Monday, July 20th. Now, Mary was at work that day. Everything was normal. She was
seeing patients, happy, energetic just like usual, but that afternoon there was just this swift and noticeable change. A
wave of nausea just hit her out of nowhere. Then vomiting and abdominal pain. By the time she was finishing up
with her last patient around 6:00 it was clear to everyone around her that something was wrong [music] and she told
people that she had never felt so sick before. So, she went home, spent the night in and out of the bathroom, and by
Tuesday morning, this is the 21st, she was even worse. So, around 9:00 a.m. Bill drove her to
the hospital. She spent the day there while doctors ran blood work and scans trying to
figure out what was going on. And the medical attention seemed to help. Mary was feeling a little bit better. Now,
doctors still decided to keep her there overnight for observation, but there didn't seem to be any like, you know,
real alarm. So, Bill assumed that she just had this nasty stomach bug, which is maybe why he did something a few of
Mary's sisters found off. He went home that night to rest, [music] which whatever, Mary wanted to
sleep too, but before going to bed, Bill says that he put his phone in another room to charge. So, he didn't wake up as
the hospital called him again and again and again because around 10:00 p.m. This
is about an hour after Bill left, not even that long. Mary's condition took this sharp turn for the worse. First,
she fell down while trying to use the bathroom. Then she was moved to the ICU, [music] and in the early morning hours
of Wednesday the 22nd, she just kept spiraling. Her heart stopped at 4:17, then again less than 20 minutes later,
and when staff still weren't able to reach Bill by then, they actually sent state troopers to his door to wake him
up. And when they do, Bill calls the hospital immediately, but even though the Yoders' house is just 15 minutes
away, it took him an hour to get there. And Mary coded again just after 10:00 a.m.
Then once an hour after that. A total of seven times. Doctors brought her back over and over again until it
was just too much and they couldn't anymore. She was pronounced dead at 2:54 p.m. on
Wednesday, July 22nd. So, to some of Mary's sisters, Bill's lack of urgency, the fact that you don't
make sure your phone is right next to you while your wife's in the hospital, that you aren't rushing out the door
when troopers have to wake you up about your wife's condition, it feels wrong to them. And listen, like
I said, I get going home that night. Mary seemed to be getting better. She wanted to sleep. And to add more
context, Bill probably had every reason to believe that it was some kind of stomach bug because their 25-year-old
son, Adam, had actually come down with something really similar just a few months earlier. He even went to the
hospital. Now, he wasn't admitted like Mary, but it was pretty bad. And though it had taken a while, he bounced back.
Yeah, but like I'm sorry, keep your phone close on you. That seems like such a no-brainer thing.
>> His excuse was that Mary had moved the phone charger months earlier, so he just
like plugged it in where she left it and just like So, move the charger. I like you know, it's it's like a little bit of
a husband answer. It's like, "Well, that's where you put it. I don't know." And especially listen, like once you
know she's in the intensive care unit, like hustle. That's kind of my thing. And listen, there's something else that
Mary's sister shares with detectives that bothers her. Once she learned that her sister died of a colchicine
overdose, she started researching the drug because just like you and me, she'd never heard of it before. And she found
something really interesting. Apparently, colchicine can be used to grow super potent marijuana, which jogs
this memory for her. Back in the early 1980s, Bill had grown some of his own marijuana using some kind of special
process with the seeds [music] to make the plants stronger. And just to be clear, like at this point, Bill had been
saying he'd never even heard of colchicine before Mary died. But like knowing this, and again, they're like
connecting dots or like that, you know, we can't prove, but like the sisters aren't buying it. But what's the why
here? Like is there a life insurance policy? Is it an actual affair? Like I know we've seen it all at this point,
but it's definitely more rare to see a spouse kill their partner after 40 years of marriage.
>> That's a long time. And I assume there wasn't like a bunch of red flags before
this or it wouldn't have been such a shock to Janine at the doctor's office when he's like, "Hey, where's Bill?"
Right. So, that's the part that no one can totally figure out. If Bill did something to Mary, why? Yeah. To answer
your question, there wasn't any life insurance. I mean, they seemed to be getting along fine. There were no
accusations of domestic violence that I know of. And whatever Mary may have told
her sister about financial struggles, it's not like he was like again walking away with a million-dollar life
insurance policy. And it doesn't seem that she ever mentioned being afraid of Bill or that he had cheated on her,
anything. But if there was a time when Janine, Sharon, or Sally were questioning themselves, like cataloging
all of this, all the years that Mary and Bill had been together thinking how devoted you have to be to a person to
build a life with them over four decades, just when they might have thought they were barking up the wrong
tree. Bill does something in late November that finally convinces some that he did have a motive, that maybe he
wanted out of his marriage. And this thing would become central to this case for the next 10 plus years to come. Four
months after his wife unexpectedly [music] died by poisoning, Bill gathers his three kids together for
this big announcement. Bill's in love again. Not just like a little crush or a date
or anything, like in love. So, it's not like he just met this woman. Well, no. >> [laughter]
>> Like there is no scenario where this looks good. Either you have to admit you
met her like the second your wife died and while everyone else was grieving, you're
boning her and just moved on super fast, or you have to admit that there's overlap and you met her before your wife
died. Somehow, there is a worse third option that kind of combines [music] both. What do you mean?
The woman that he is in a relationship with, that he is in love with now, is one of Mary's own sister.
Yeah. Okay. Oh, there I have so many questions, but let's pause for a second. Walk me
through this. How does someone go from thinking Bill [music] killed their sister to being in
a relationship with him in a matter of months? So, they don't. It is not Janine, Sharon, or Sally that Bill is
announcing he's in love with. So, it's not that. They have another sister, Kathleen. That's who Bill is seeing, in
love with, whatever. And look, I know grief can bring people together in unexpected ways,
but this seems fast to say the least. And basically, Bill says that like after Mary died, he
and Kathleen just like leaned on each other. They were both mourning cuz Kathleen's own husband had died after
this long illness the year before and they understood what the other was going through. And then in September, things
got romantic. So, we're talking about this 4 months after Mary died, but it got romantic 2 months later? Correct.
Dude, >> [laughter] >> I would haunt the out of my husband. I mean, if I'm still around, if I'm still
around, I will haunt I don't even need to haunt them. I will go for them for [laughter] you. I mean, I'm not
>> god. I'm not saying never be happy again, but just like >> this. No. And according to ABC News
Studios, which actually made this Hulu docu-series about this case, this is suspicious to a lot of people. I
mean, family and investigators alike. They wonder if the relationship started before Mary died. Same. Maybe he wanted
to be with Kathleen and got rid of Mary to make that happen. So, detectives are obviously like catching
wind of all of this and they quietly start to subpoena phone records and bank statements. They also talk to the Yoder
children who are in this like impossible position. Like they're cooperating with law
enforcement while pretending with their father that like nothing is going on. >> And what are they thinking at this time?
Like this has got to be a little suspicious to them, too, right? >> yeah, they love their dad, but they're
starting to face the thought that he might be responsible for this. I mean, at least that's what Bill and Mary's
daughters, Leanna and Tamron, kind of describe and how like terrifying the thought of this is. They They talk about
it during an interview with ABC News. [music] And they said, you know, they were
surprised to say the least about his relationship with Kathleen. And one of the other things they're really honest
about is Tamron tells police about this odd conversation she had with her dad not long after their mom died about this
inheritance that Bill had recently received when his own father passed away. He he close to like half a million
dollars. And according to Tamron, he said that while the money wasn't really enough for
two people to retire on, it was for one. So, you have this like no, there's no affair, but you have this weird Kathleen
thing, and no, there was no life insurance on Mary. >> But, there was like a financial thing.
>> Could there have been financial motive after all? Maybe not the normal kind where, you know, someone's in a lot of
debt or something, but like a financial motive nonetheless. But then, just as Lieutenant Nelson and investigator Van
Namey are starting to really dig into Bill, the strangest thing happens. They get an anonymous letter that completely
changes the direction of this case. On November 23rd, 2015, the same typewritten [music]
anonymous letter shows up at both the sheriff's department and the ME's office. Each envelope is postmarked
November 20th, 2015. And this is what that letter says. Please forward to acting investigators.
I know police are currently looking into this death, but I don't know where to send this information. This is in
regards to the July 22nd, 2015 [music] death of Mary Yoder in Utica, New York. If the toxin found in her was
colchicine, Adam Yoder, her son, is responsible. He told me he did. And moreover, he told
me how and where he put the rest of the toxin. It was already odd Adam drove back so early the day of her death,
arriving in Utica around 6:30 a.m., meaning that he left Long Island very early morning because she wasn't in
grave condition then. It's weird he'd drive down to Long Island and then go back north in the
middle of the night, especially since he'd been so standoffish and just mean to her, telling her he functioned better
by not seeing or talking to her. He felt she was unfair to him and he resented that. She should have helped him more.
When I saw him a couple days ago, he appeared agitated and said he was the reason for her death and he wished he
could take it back. Then he said he got a bottle of colchicine off online and put the toxin
in one of her vitamins when he was over at his parents' house. He said his mom noticed he seemed disturbed at the time
and she thought it was since he was drinking at their house. Adam said he told her no, the beer was
not the reason he was disturbed and to drop it. He said he apologized to his parents for
ruining the holiday of Father's Day and left. Adam was upset people weren't paying
more attention to him. He felt he deserved more attention and he thought people would be nicer to him. He acted
resentful and belligerent to his immediate family and became visibly irritated people kept talking about his
mom. He says he expected a financial payout after the death, which did not come.
After he found out he was not getting the money he thought he would, he said he regretted what he did, was
hysterical, and he didn't know what he was going to do, but he had ideas. He said now the colchicine container is
under the front seat passenger side of his Jeep. That's where he said it was until he figures out where to put it or
dispose of it next. I asked him to show me where he kept it currently and said no, but described it as a small glass
bottle. He has a black Jeep Wrangler, 1991 model. I am sending this anonymously because I can't keep this
information. It is right to alert authorities, but it's still hard to do and I fear attaching my name to this
information right now. I'm very close to him, but what he did was wrong and I believe he would be capable of repeating
this type of act. To add credibility to this, Mary Yoder got sick two days before she passed away
suddenly. The cause of her death was not released and initial medical reports were inconclusive, but I now suspect
colchicine poisoning from her son. And her symptoms were sudden onset abdominal pain, nausea, and diarrhea. She was
admitted Tuesday to the hospital and died Wednesday afternoon after repeated failed attempts to restart her heart.
Adam's monetary concerns are suspect because he struggled financially and supported somewhat by his parents'
assistance. Colchicine is a very specific name and the name of the toxin found in Mary Yoder was not released.
So, if they are one in the same, it's not a coincidence. After he related to me the information
about where the specific toxin is and the details, I feel this is necessary for appropriate authorities to pursue
this. Oh, they're going to pursue this, all right. Starting by talking to 25-year-old Adam Yoder.
The detectives bring him in on December 8th for an impromptu interview. And when
they sit down with him, they just lay it out there. We got this letter claiming that you poisoned your mother with
colchicine and that the bottle is still in your Jeep. And right away, Adam denies it all. He says that he'd never
even heard of colchicine before they were all told about Mary's cause of death [music] back in September. And he
didn't know which police agency was investigating the case until today when they called him in. So, after a quick
call to a lawyer, he agrees to let them search the Jeep, which is in the parking
lot since he drove it to the station. So, they go outside to do this search right in front of him. And it takes a
minute because this thing is a hot mess. Like techs literally have to clean it out just to get to the seats. And as
investigator Van Namey later told ABC News, he's thinking, "There's no way they're going to actually find
anything." But, when they look under the front passenger seat, there it is. Exactly where the letter said it would
be, this small glass bottle of colchicine. To say that everyone is stunned is an understatement. Not only
is the colchicine there, but right by it is the receipt dating back to January of
that year, chock-full of helpful details like the email address used [music] to buy it. Mr. Adam Yoder 1990@gmail.com.
And the address that it was shipped to, the Yoders' chiropractic office. Now, when they find this, Adam seems just as
floored as everyone else. And he swears that he's never ordered colchicine and that email address isn't even his,
although it is similar to others that he's used. He [music] also points out that he wasn't even around when his mom
got sick. He'd been in Long Island visiting his sister Leanna starting on July 15th and he didn't get home until
he got the call that Mary was in the hospital. Toll records ultimately later back that up.
>> But, if the letter's right and he drugged her vitamins around Father's Day, like does that alibi even
count or matter? Maybe not. But, Adam is insistent that this had to have been planted to frame him. And honestly,
there is something about how this all unfolded that kind of makes investigators agree.
>> Wait, really? I know. Like, who doesn't love an easy solve, right? Like, many
detectives might have taken this handed to them on a silver platter. >> And ran with it.
>> Called it a day. But, to Van Namey and Nelson, it's all just a little too perfect. Like, someone just offering
Adam up. The thing is, if Adam is being [music] framed, it's probably by whoever
actually killed Mary. So, why now? Was this a diversion? Were they getting too close? I mean, at this
point, the only person they've been looking at was Bill. And while his behavior has been suspicious at times,
if he's behind this, it means that he poisoned his wife and then had no problem setting up his own son to take
the fall for it. >> Which would be diabolical? >> To say the least, but not impossible.
And investigators decide that what they need to do is they need to talk to someone who knows this family [music]
well. Someone who might be able to shed light on the family dynamics and clue them in on Adam's activities. So, they
decide to go to 22-year-old Kaitlyn Conley. [music] Now, Katie is the office manager at the
Yoders' practice and she has been working there for nearly 3 and 1/2 years. But, she is also Adam's
ex-girlfriend. They started dating back in 2011, on-again, off-again. Like, things had been off before Mary's death.
Maybe it seems like they reconnected briefly in the wake of the tragedy, but either way, Mary had adored Katie and
the feeling seemed to be mutual. I mean, Katie was at the hospital the day that Mary died. She helped plan the memorial.
She was even mentioned in Mary's obituary. So, Katie comes to [music] the station in mid-December. And this is
really their first time interacting with her. Their impression of her is, you know,
she's this soft-spoken young woman who seems [music] eager to help. And before they jump right into the tough family
questions, they just ask her about Mary's normal routines and [music] her last day at the office.
>> Mhm. What stood out? What do you remember? And Katie had already gone over a lot of this with the Yoders, both
Leanna and Bill had asked her about it. So, it's fresh in her mind. It had just been her and Mary in the office that
[music] day, a totally average Monday. Mary arrived at 8:00 a.m., worked the normal morning. She was seeing patients.
Then she left at like 12:30 to have lunch with her mom, but it turns out her mom had already eaten. So, Mary came
back about an hour later, mixed a protein shake, and then took some vitamins. That was her typical routine.
She kept supplements at the office and at her house. Now, on July 20th, she'd brought the vitamins with her and she
made her shake using almond milk from the office fridge, which already had been tested and came back clean.
But, Katie can't remember whether the protein powder for like her shake or whatever, if that came from the office
stash or not. [music] So, next, investigators ask her about colchicine. And she said she's never even heard of
it, but she knows that Mary was killed by some kind of toxin. I mean, she was actually with Adam when he was
collecting a bunch of supplements and stuff from the office to be tested by poison control. I guess initially he had
asked her for the key so he could just go on his own and get the stuff, but she didn't want to give it to him, so she
went along. But the whole thing was strange, she said. Like he was acting frantic, just like grabbing everything
he could find. And before they left, she says that he told her, "If anyone got in
trouble for this, it would be her." Is that a threat? I don't know what that was. But Katie
tells police she is suspicious of Adam. She said that he can be controlling and at times violent. And that's when she
tells them something that maybe they should have already known, but might have missed. She actually filed a police
report against him in 2014 for sexual assault, though she didn't end up pursuing charges.
And on top of that, she remembers that back in February, this package came to the Yoder's office. It was addressed to
Adam, which was odd because while Adam used to work there, he hadn't in years. So she says she left it on her desk or
like near the front counter, and she assumes that he eventually picked it up. >> And what about his relationship with
Mary? Like does Katie have any idea like why he would want to kill his own mother? She says she doesn't know why
anyone would want to kill Mary. But others had described their relationship as complicated, Mary and Adam's. Like
there was no question that Mary loved him, but Janine told Crime Watch Daily that she had also enabled him. Although
she was starting to take a firmer stand. And I guess they had gotten into an argument on Mother's Day, which led to
Adam telling her that he didn't want to see her and Bill too much anymore. And even though it seems like they had made
up, he had lashed out at her via text just the week before she died because he like needed help with something, and it
sounds like he felt like she brushed him off. But here's the whole thing. I mean,
they're hearing all of this, Nelson and Van Amey. But there's something bothering them. And it's not Adam and
Mary's relationship. It's the way that Katie is talking. Her suspicions, they're almost too similar to the
anonymous letter. And so investigators begin to wonder if she was the one who wrote it.
And if that's true, it means that they've had this thing all wrong. So they immediately start digging. Who is
Katie Conley? And what have they been missing? It turns out a lot. But all of that comes in part two of
this story. Now if you've got the Crime Junkie Fan Club app, you can listen to that right now and ad-free, or come back
next Monday to find out what detectives [music] learned and why justice has been
so elusive. Here's some issues that I still have. You got to You got to look at it from our point of view. We're
looking at one of three people here. The husband, Mhm. Adam, or you. You're going to have to help us.
If you're telling us you have nothing to do with this, you're going to have to help us rule you out, just like we got
to rule out Adam or Bill, whoever is not responsible for this. Cuz right now, there's a lot of things unanswered
questions that we have. >> Right. Um the Gmail account and some other things. And like you said, those
don't point to Adam. They point to that person. >> I know. You need to help us clear you.

In July 2015, 60-year-old Mary Yoder walked into work at her chiropractic practice in Whitesboro, New York, feeling fine. Within 48 hours, she was dead.

At first, doctors suspected a rare infection. But months later, toxicology results revealed something shocking: Mary died from a massive overdose of colchicine, a prescription medication she was never prescribed. Colchicine isn’t an over-the-counter drug. It’s not something people casually have access to. And the amount found in Mary’s system was far beyond a therapeutic dose.

Mary’s husband of nearly 40 years, Dr. William “Bill” Yoder, initially appeared devastated. But after her sudden death, his behavior raised questions among family members, including a rapid new relationship with Mary’s own sister.

As investigators in Oneida County, New York began digging, an anonymous letter arrived accusing someone close to Mary of the poisoning. When detectives followed up on the tip, they made a discovery that turned the entire case upside down.

In this episode of Crime Junkie, Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat unravel the anonymous letter that redirected the investigation and the evidence found in a Jeep that no one saw coming

What began as a medical mystery quickly evolved into a murder investigation that divided a family and a community. And this is only Part 1.

Key Episode Moments: 0:00 Intro 0:44 A Routine Day: July 20, 2015 2:11 The Mystery Diagnosis 3:32 Toxicology Reveal: A Massive Colchicine Overdose 5:08 Investigating the Source 7:33 Suspect #1 16:06 A Shocking Announcement 20:37 The Anonymous Letter 24:33 The Jeep Search -------- Follow Crime Junkie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crimejunkiepodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CrimeJunkiePodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/CrimeJunkiePod Crime Junkie is created and hosted by Ashley Flowers.

About Ashley Flowers Ashley Flowers is the top female podcaster in the U.S. and the host of Crime Junkie, the #1 podcast among women and the #1 true crime podcast globally. As the Founder of audiochuck, she has built a top-tier podcast production company that has garnered over 2.6 billion downloads, captivating audiences with its gripping storytelling through 10+ chart topping podcasts. Ashley and her team are dedicated to creating responsible true crime content that respects victims and their families.

Follow Ashley: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ASHLEYFLOWERS/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ash_flowers TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ashleyflowerscrimejunkie Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashleyflowers.af/

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Brief Summary

Mary Yoder's sudden death leads to a murder investigation involving her husband and son, uncovering family secrets and shocking revelations.

Key points

The Mysterious Death of Mary Yoder. A seemingly healthy woman dies suddenly, leading to a shocking murder investigation.
The Shocking Cause of Death. Mary's autopsy reveals she died from an overdose of colchicine, a drug she never took.
Bill's New Relationship Raises Eyebrows. Just months after Mary's death, Bill announces he's in love with her sister.
Anonymous Letter Changes Everything. An anonymous letter reveals shocking information about Mary Yoder's death.
Colchicine Found in Adam's Jeep. Investigators find the toxin in Adam's vehicle, confirming suspicions.
Katie's Suspicious Behavior. Katie Conley, Adam's ex-girlfriend, raises red flags about his actions.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

This should be a routine visit, but it's anything but.

Janine takes her mom to a doctor's appointment, but it holds a dark memory.

0:47WatchMar 16, 2026

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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