The true story of Mary Jane Fonder, the oldest woman ever convicted of murder in Bucks County, PA—and how an infatuation with her pastor led her there.On the outside, Mary Jane Fonder seemed like a kindly sixty-six-year-old congregant of the Lutheran church in Springfield Township, PA. But inside, she longed for the church's handsome Pastor Gregory Shreaves, a former golf pro who sparked her most sinful thoughts.When Mary Jane let her feelings be known, the...

The shocking, true story of Pennsylvania mass murderer Michael Ballard who received the death sentence for his crimes—includes eight pages of dramatic photos.Out of controlJune 26, 2010. A Pennsylvania State Trooper, heading home from work, witnesses a car speeding and crashing into trees. Stopping to help, he finds that the driver, Michael Ballard, is alive—and drenched in blood. When asked what happened, the man answers: "I just killed everybody."

On the outside, Mary Jane Fonder seemed like a kindly sixty-six-year-old congregant of the Lutheran church in Springfield Township, PA. But inside, she longed for the church's handsome Pastor Gregory Shreaves, a former golf pro who sparked her most sinful thoughts.When Mary Jane let her feelings be known, the Pastor gently pushed her away. But her obsession only grew stronger when she became convinced that he was romantically involved with a younger church member, a woman named Rho...

June 26, 2010. A Pennsylvania state trooper witnesses a car speeding and crashing into trees. Stopping to help, he finds that the driver, Michael Ballard, is alive—and drenched in blood. When asked what happened, the man answers, "I just killed everybody."Not far from the accident, police make a gruesome discovery. In the home of Michael's ex-girlfriend, Denise Mehri, they find four bodies that had been stabbed repeatedly with a knife: Denise, on the kitchen floor; her grandfather,...

“Anything by Phelps is always an eye-opening experience.” —Suspense MagazineSheila Davalloo was young, attractive, and successful. When she started a new job at a cutting-edge research lab in Stamford, Connecticut, she met the man of her dreams. Nelson Sessler had no idea how violently Sheila would react when he began seeing a co-worker, Anna Lisa Raymundo. Sheila eliminated her rival in a bloody knife attack—and then turned her rage on another victim she saw as an obstacl...

When the bodies of three teenagers were found on the shores of Lake Waco, Texas, in July, 1982, even seasoned lawmen were taken aback by the savage mutilation and degradation they had been subjected to. Yet only fifty-two days after the gruesome triple-murder was discovered, frustrated authorities suspended the case indefinitely.Patrol Sergeant Truman Simons, who had been called to the scene that night, saw the carnage first-hand—and vowed to find the ferocious killer or killers. H...

Jocelyn Branham Earnest was found dead on the floor of her living room in Forest, Virginia. By her side was a gun and a suicide note—typed, lacking a signature, and with one fingerprint on it. A fingerprint apparently belonging to Jocelyn's estranged husband.Wesley Earnest was a respected high school administrator, poised to restart his life in a new community. Parents entrusted their children to his care and believed he was above reproach. But the investigation into the life the c...

"I KILLED MY PARENTS."Seventeen-year-old Tyler Hadley posted an invitation on Facebook: party at my crib tonight. But this was no ordinary house party in the Florida suburbs; it was a grisly crime scene. Later that night, Tyler revealed to his best friend, Michael, that he'd bludgeoned his parents to death with a hammer. Michael didn't believe him…until he entered the master bedroom and saw the bodies of Tyler's parents on the floor—murdered, beyond the sh...

Detroit mortgage broker Mark Unger adored his wife Florence and their two young sons. But after a decade of marriage and increasing financial trouble, Mark’s life began to slowly unravel. He became addicted to pain killers and gambling, and ended up spending five months in rehab.Forced to go back to work, Flo became bitter and resentful of Mark and began to have an affair with one of his friends. When Mark returned home and his disability checks weren’t enough to make ends meet, Fl...

“Phelps’s writing reads like a mystery novel.” —Suspense MagazineThe crime stunned quiet Mineral Wells, Texas: 49-year-old Bob Dow shot execution-style in his own bed, his invalid mother locked in the next room—and a cache of homemade porn starring the town’s underage girls. The two accused killers—teen lovers Bobbi Jo Smith and Jennifer Jones—were on the run, intent on going out in a cross-country blaze of glory. M. William Phelps exposes a gripping tale of sexploitation,...

Dr. John Yelenic was a successful dentist in a small Pennsylvania town. When he met Michele Kamler, he thought he'd finally found the woman of his dreams. She was beautiful, intelligent, and seemed to want all the same things out of life as he did.Michele married Yelenic in 1997. But by 2002, the relationship fell apart…and what followed was a bitter, three-year-long battle in which Michele made demands for Yelenic's money and even accused him―falsely, it would later be shown―of se...

A seemingly perfect world held an even more unlikely killer...Julie Keown had a great job, financial security, and a perfect husband who was attending Harvard Business School. But after Julie suddenly died, and doctors discovered she’d been poisoned with the main ingredient in antifreeze, her parents began to suspect that her husband, James, was not so perfect. This blow-by-blow account shows how investigators and state police unraveled James Keown’s chilling web o...