# Killing of Mary Yoder

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**Mary Louise Yoder** (March 18, 1955 – July 22, 2015)[1] was a [chiropractor](/source/Chiropractor) who died of poisoning, allegedly by the receptionist at her practice. The receptionist, Kaitlyn Conley, was convicted of manslaughter in 2018, after a first trial ended in a mistrial. The conviction was overturned on appeal in 2025.

## History

Yoder and her husband ran a small chiropractor's office together in [Whitesboro, New York](/source/Whitesboro,_New_York). She had been in good health, but her health declined precipitously in July 2015, ending in her death.[2] Yoder's relatives believed the death was suspicious and contacted law enforcement. An autopsy determined that Yoder's death was caused by the anti-inflammatory drug [colchicine](/source/Colchicine), and ruled it a homicide.[3] The [Oneida County](/source/Oneida_County,_New_York) Sheriff's office received an anonymous letter in November that accused Yoder's son Adam of the killing. Adam's jeep was searched and a bottle of colchicine was found under a seat. However, he was out of town when the poisoning took place, and he said the bottle was planted.[4]

The focus of the investigation centered on Kaitlyn Conley, who worked as a receptionist at the office, and had dated Adam Yoder. Conley was charged with second-degree murder in July 2016, accused of having poisoned Yoder at lunch during work.[3][5] Conley acknowledged writing the letter and maintained that Adam was responsible for the poisoning. At trial, the defense pointed to Mary's husband Bill as the killer.[4]

Conley's first trial, in May 2017, failed to produce a unanimous verdict and was declared a mistrial.[6] In a second trial concluding January 2018, Conley was acquitted of second-degree murder but convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 23 years in prison.[7][8]

In 2019, the [United States Supreme Court](/source/United_States_Supreme_Court) refused to hear an appeal by the *[Utica Observer-Dispatch](/source/Utica_Observer-Dispatch)* regarding access to juror questionnaires in Conley's trial.[9]

Conley's conviction was overturned in February 2025, when the [New York Court of Appeals](/source/New_York_Court_of_Appeals) ruled that evidence from her cell phone was improperly obtained and should not have been allowed in court.[10] The Oneida County district attorney moved to hold her pending a new indictment. After a county judge denied that motion, she was released from prison.[5]

As of October 2025, the district attorney of Oneida County is pursuing a third trial against Conley.[11][4][12] A date of April 2026 was set for arguments before an appeals judge in [Rochester](/source/Rochester,_New_York) regarding sealed evidence.[13]

## Media

The poisoning was presented on *[Forensic Files II](/source/Forensic_Files_II)*, *[My Favorite Murder](/source/List_of_My_Favorite_Murder_episodes)*, and *[Crime Watch Daily](/source/Crime_Watch_Daily)*,[14] and twice on *[Dateline NBC](/source/Dateline_NBC)*.[15][2] Conley was interviewed in the [Hulu](/source/Hulu) miniseries *[Little Miss Innocent](/source/List_of_ended_Hulu_original_programming)*.[16]

## References

1. ["Dr. Mary Louise (Bakert) Yoder Obituary"](https://www.eannacefuneralhome.com/obituaries/Mary-Yoder-5/#!/Obituary). *Dr. Mary Louise (Bakert) Yoder Obituary*. 2015-10-04. Retrieved 2025-07-28.

1. Sederstrom, Jill (2025-03-21). ["New York Chiropractor Is Poisoned, Leading to "Dramatic" Court Decision: "We Just Want the Truth""](https://www.nbc.com/nbc-insider/chiropractor-mary-yoder-poisoned-shocking-suspect-emerges). *NBC*. Retrieved 2025-07-28.

1. ["NY woman charged with fatally poisoning chiropractor boss"](https://apnews.com/general-news-f1ddb455daed491d89da3d2023299c92). *AP News*. 2016-06-14. Retrieved 2025-07-28.

1. ["After two murder trials and a conviction, woman accused of poisoning her boss awaits news of whether she'll be tried again"](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kaitlyn-conley-murder-trial-mary-yoder-adam-rcna197138). *NBC News*. 2025-03-21. Retrieved 2025-08-09.

1. Hayes, Anne (2025-02-05). ["Kaitlyn Conley released from custody after manslaughter conviction overturned"](https://www.syracuse.com/crime/2025/02/kaitlyn-conley-released-from-custody-after-manslaughter-conviction-overturned.html). *syracuse*. Retrieved 2025-07-28.

1. ["Retrial begins for New York woman charged with killing boss"](https://apnews.com/general-news-f1f93dd844b5459aae03c7ea6d41abd7). *AP News*. 2017-10-16. Retrieved 2025-07-28.

1. ["New York woman gets prison in boss-poisoning death"](https://apnews.com/general-news-8f858fdbb3dd42b9b9c974ae9fa43751). *AP News*. 2018-01-11. Retrieved 2025-07-28.

1. Dziemianowicz, Joe (2021-02-13). ["Woman Fatally Poisoned Former Boyfriend’s Mom To Get Toxic Revenge On Her Ex"](https://www.oxygen.com/killer-motive/crime-news/kaitlyn-conley-poisons-ex-boyfriends-mom-mary-yoder). *Oxygen*. Retrieved 2025-08-09.

1. ["Supreme Court won't hear New York juror information case"](https://apnews.com/supreme-court-of-the-united-states-fac784af7ece49da88f22cc33235c71d). *AP News*. 2019-10-07. Retrieved 2025-07-29.

1. ["Court tosses conviction of NY woman in her boss' poisoning death"](https://apnews.com/article/conviction-overturned-boss-poisoning-trial-kaitlyn-conley-2bd8b232ffef21eedae213a4543b02aa). *AP News*. 2025-02-01. Retrieved 2025-07-29.

1. Russell, Lane (2025-04-18). ["Oneida County DA to present new evidence in Mary Yoder death case"](https://cnycentral.com/news/local/oneida-county-da-to-present-new-evidence-in-mary-yoder-death-case). *WSTM*. Retrieved 2025-08-09.

1. Moss, Jon (2025-04-17). ["New grand jury to hear evidence in poisoning death after Kaitlyn Conley conviction overturned"](https://www.syracuse.com/news/2025/04/new-grand-jury-to-hear-evidence-in-poisoning-death-after-kaitlyn-conley-conviction-overturned.html). *syracuse*. Retrieved 2025-08-09.

1. Mills, Sean I. (2025-10-23). ["April court date set in Rochester for Kaitlyn Conley case"](https://www.romesentinel.com/news/rochester-kaitlyn-conley-appellate-division-petitoin/article_a6ff731c-d062-44d9-a86e-30471e4c40c9.html). *Rome Sentinel*. Retrieved 2025-10-28.

1. Doran, Elizabeth (2018-03-20). ["'A Deadly Dose': National TV show features Kaitlyn Conley poisoning case"](https://www.syracuse.com/news/2018/03/a_deadly_dose_national_tv_show_features_kaitlyn_conley_poisoning_case.html). *syracuse*. Retrieved 2025-07-28.

1. Buckshot, Sarah Moses (2017-11-30). ["'Dateline' to air episode on poisoning death of Mary Yoder, Kaitlyn Conley case"](https://www.syracuse.com/crime/2017/11/dateline_to_air_episode_on_mary_yoder_kaitlyn_conley_case.html). *syracuse*. Retrieved 2025-07-29.

1. Schneider, Michael (2024-09-12). ["Hulu Picks Up ABC News Studios Docuseries ‘Little Miss Innocent: Passion. Poison. Prison.’ (EXCLUSIVE)"](https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/hulu-abc-news-studios-little-miss-innocent-passion-poison-prison-1236141752/). *Variety*. Retrieved 2025-08-09.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Killing of Mary Yoder](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Mary_Yoder) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Mary_Yoder?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.