On January 23, 2008, Rhonda Smith was found face down in an workplace at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Springfield Township, Pennsylvania. Watch Philly Homicide On Saturdays on Oxygen and Peacock. Smith, 42, BloodVitals monitor had been shot twice. Judy Zellner, a close friend of the victim, BloodVitals health stumbled upon the horrifying scene when she arrived at 12:30 p.m. Zellner’s frantic 911 name will be heard within the "Sinner and Saint" episode of Philly Homicide, airing Saturdays at 9/8c p.m. "She’s useless," Zellner advised the dispatcher. "There’s blood throughout her head and round her head." But when paramedics arrived, they'd discovered that Smith was still clinging to life, and she was rushed to the hospital. Who was Rhonda Smith? Investigators realized that Smith had been a member of the church for two years. The pastor Blood Vitals and congregation had embraced her, and she’d recently taken a component-time job there. "She could not handle a full-time job at the church," said Zellner.
Smith's mental BloodVitals health impacted her career. "Rhonda had a ardour for teaching. She had a passion for kids," Deanna Durante, a reporter for Philadelphia-based WCAU, mentioned on Philly Homicide. Smith pursued instructing in faculty. "But bipolar acquired to her right on the last semester, and she never graduated," said Zellner. Smith yearned for independence and BloodVitals SPO2 moved into her own apartment. Money was tight. She shared with church pastor Greg Shreaves that she was having trouble paying her payments. The pastor rallied members of the congregation to assist. "Some of us gave her money and a few present playing cards, and so they put it in a Christmas card," stated Zellner. "Three days earlier than Rhonda Smith was found, she stood in front of her congregation and thanked them for all of the help they had given her," stated Durante. Pennsylvania State Troopers processed the scene. They collected bullet fragments that would assist determine the kind of gun the shooter used.
"The police also took possession of the workplace laptop for an expert to do a forensic analysis," stated David W. Zellis, who was then a first Assistant District Attorney in the Bucks County DA's Office. As troopers interviewed church members, the topic of suicide got here up. The fact that Smith was shot twice didn’t routinely rule that out. But there was no gun at the scene, which led to extra questions. "Detectives requested me, did I kick a gun, did I see a gun, did I conceal a gun? Several hours after the capturing, Smith’s mother and father made the difficult choice to finish life help. "We circled around her, holding hands," Zellner instructed Philly Homicide. What have been the results of Rhonda Smith's autopsy? Smith had been shot twice. "One was a glancing wound to her head, and the opposite one had penetrated her skull," said Richard Webb, Jr., who was then a lieutenant with the Pennsylvania State Police. The forensic pathologist noticed gunpowder stippling on Smith’s forehead and on her hand.
The proof indicated that she raised her hand in a defensive place. The proof dominated out suicide and Smith's demise was categorized as a homicide. From the bullet fragments, investigators determined that the homicide weapon was a .38 caliber gun. Investigators developed a theory of the crime. "The first gunshot would have stunned or knocked down Rhonda," mentioned Webb. After they analyzed the church pc, detectives saw that Smith logged on at 9:Forty a.m. 10:Fifty eight a.m. She was found at 12:30 p.m. Troopers decided the murder to have occurred at round eleven a.m. Investigators targeted on Smith’s close circle, together with Pastor Shreaves. He’d been out of city at a conference for three days. Being away "ruled out the possibility that he could have been involved," mentioned Webb, adding that Shreaves knew his parishioners higher than anybody. A one-time person of interest was a man who showed up on the church on a pair events. "He mentioned to one in every of our parishioners, ‘This can be a very good place to rob,’ so we had been a bit of skeptical," stated Zellner.