May 18 -- 2:34 p.m.
After taking a two-hour break for lunch, the jury came back and read a note saying:
"We the jury, after taking a break, are still never going to be able to reach a unanimous verdict."
Attorneys accept this is a hung jury and agree this will be declared a mistrial.
Adjourned until June 2, where attorneys and judge will discuss what's next.
May 18 -- 12 p.m.
Day 5 in the jury deliberations for the Kaitlyn Conley murder trial – and according to the judge – it will be their last.
The jury is being read the Allen Charge, for the second time throughout deliberations, by Judge Dwyer. They will then take a two-hour lunch break and reconvene to “deliberate a bit more.”
They handed the judge a note saying:
Note: "We will never reach a unanimous verdict." #ConleyTrial
— Cara Thomas (@CaraThomasNews) May 18, 2017
The judge says if they don't reach a verdict today, he will declare it a mistrial.
He said to them he appreciates their hard work, but "I am going to ask you for a little bit more."
"You've worked longer than any other jury I've ever had and that's in 22 years." ~ Judge Dwyer
— Cara Thomas (@CaraThomasNews) May 18, 2017
May 17 -- 5:30 p.m.
There was no significant movement Wednesday from the jury deliberating in the Kaitlyn Conley murder trial.
The jury has been in deliberations for more than 21 hours over more than four days. Those deliberations will resume Thursday at 10 a.m.
May 16 -- 6 p.m.
An Oneida County jury has been deliberating for more than three days regarding a case involving a woman allegedly murdering her boss.
Kaitlyn Conley is accused of poisoning 60-year-old Mary Yoder with a toxin called colchicine. Jurors were given the case last Thursday. So far, they've been deliberating for about 16 1/2 hours.
Near the end of the day Tuesday, the jury requested a white board so they could create a timeline. It also asked for a small portion of William Yoder's testimony to be read back, regarding what days of the week Conley worked at Chiropractic Family Care.
The jury will continue its discussion Wednesday morning at 10 a.m.
May 15 -- 5:55 p.m.
There is still no verdict in the Kaitlyn Conley murder trial.
Jurors have been deliberating for about 11 and half hours total, and told the judge Monday they are unable to reach an unanimous decision.
Conley is accused of poisoning her boss, 60-year-old Mary Yoder, with a toxin called colchicine.
But the defense says Conley had no reason to kill Yoder, and are instead pointing the blame at the victim's husband.
The judge told the jury to continue deliberating.
The jurors also asked for the definition of intent.
They will return Tuesday morning at 10 a.m.
May 12 -- 6 p.m.
After about 6 1/2 hours of deliberating, the jury has not yet reached a verdict. Jurors spent all Friday, as well as part of the afternoon Thursday, deliberating.
Conley is accused of poisoning her boss, Mary Yoder, in July 2015.
Jurors have a lot of evidence to sort through. Testimony lasted nearly three weeks. Dozens of witnesses took the stand, and a couple hundred documents and other items were brought into evidence.
On Friday, jurors had portions of four testimonies read back. They asked to see part of a recorded interview Conley had with police. They also asked for the definition of reasonable doubt.
Jurors will continue their deliberations Monday morning.
May 11 -- 8 p.m.
The case against an Oneida County woman accused of murdering her boss has been turned over to the jury.
Closing arguments were presented in the Kaitlyn Conley trial Thursday. She's accused of using a toxin called colchicine to kill 60-year-old Mary Yoder.
The prosecution believes Conley planned the murder for months. They say she used her work computer and other office resources to purchase the toxin, all the while framing her ex-boyfriend and the victim's son, Adam Yoder.
The prosecution says he was Conley's reason for committing the crime. They say Adam no longer wanted to be in a relationship with her, but Conley was willing to do anything to win him back.
The defense, however, doesn't believe there's motive or any proof Conley committed the crime of murder in the second degree. The defense says Conley went above and beyond trying to help police, only failing to cooperate when police refused to listen to what she had to say.
The defense says it's more likely that the victim's husband William committed the crime.
The jury will continue deliberations Friday morning.
May 11 -- 12:31 p.m.
Closing arguments are wrapping up this morning in Oneida County Court, where Kaitlyn Conley is on trial for the murder of her boss.
The defense was first to address the jury this morning, acknowledging that Mary Yoder died from a toxin called colchicine, but they say her receptionist, Kaitlyn Conley wasn't the person responsible.
They've pointed the finger at Yoder's husband William.
The prosecution claims Conley tried to frame Yoder's son for the crime. The two had been in a relationship, and they say she wanted revenge.
The evidence against her includes her credit cards being used to buy the colchicine, and an email account she created in Adam's name.
Conley is charged with second-degree murder.
May 10 -- 7 p.m.
The final day of testimony revealed some new twists for jurors. Two of Mary Yoder’s sisters took the stand. Both said they don't believe Conley was the mastermind behind their sister's death.
Yoder's sisters, Janine King and Sharon Mills, say it's their belief that William Yoder killed his wife. They say they tried to explain their theories to police, but investigators refused to listen.
"I talked to Lt. Nelson and told him that OK, I'm willing to accept that maybe Katie had something to do with this, but I cannot believe she acted on her own," said King.
One of Kathy Richmond's neighbors also took the stand. Richmond was Mary's older sister and is now in a romantic relationship with William Yoder. She says she saw Richmond and Yoder together prior to Mary's death in July 2015. Yoder and Richmond both testified earlier in the trial that they didn't begin a romantic relationship until September of that year.
Closing arguments are scheduled for Thursday morning.
May 9 -- 7:15 p.m.
The prosecution rested Tuesday, after calling one more witness to the stand, Lt. Robert Nelson.
A portion of an interview with Conley was shown to the court. Investigator Mark VanNamee also testified about other portions of this same interview on Monday. The interview in total lasted about 6 hours.
Nelson attempted to convince Conley to say why she killed Yoder.
While Conley never made any admissions and continued to proclaim her innocence, there was a small portion of the interview where Conley told Nelson she feared what would happen to her.
"My life is over," said Conley.
Nelson responded, "Life's not over. You're young, Katie; your life is not over. We just need to know why. What drove you to this? Why would you do this, Katie? Was it Adam?"
"No. I'll go to jail, I'll go to jail forever," she said.
Three witnesses testified for the defense Tuesday, including the victim's daughter Tamaryn Yoder, as well as Kathleen Richmond, William Yoder's sister-in-law and now girlfriend. The defense asked both witnesses about William Yoder's relationship with Richmond.
Richmond said they were only friends until September 2015, when they became romantically involved.
May 8 -- 6 p.m.
The lead investigator in the Kaitlyn Conley murder case returned to the stand for a fourth time.
Investigator Mark VanNamee testified about a fourth interview he conducted with Conley. Segments of the 6-hour interview were played for the jury.
The video shows VanNamee explaining all the evidence they have against Conley, with the defendant maintaining her innocence.
"The computer guys tell us your phone was exclusively used in this whole case, whether it be scanning these documents, whether it be shutting down the Adam Yoder account, the communication," said VanNamee.
Conley replied, "If my phone was so involved and I knew it, then I would have gotten rid of it."
During cross examination, defense attorney Chris Pelli asked VanNamee if he knew how Mary Yoder was poisoned. VanNamee said he had some theories, but Pelli argued anyone could come up with theories.
Pelli also asked VanNamee if they ever discovered motive. VanNamee says they did not.
May 5 -- 6 p.m.
Week 2 of the Kaitlyn Conley trial has come to a close.
On Friday, two computer forensic experts from Utica College took the stand. One of them was tasked with analyzing more than 20 electronic devices from the case.
His analysis revealed the user of the receptionists' computer at Chiropractic Family Care had searched for articles regarding colchicine. Someone also used that computer to access a Gmail account used to purchase the toxin.
Conley's cellphone was also analyzed. The words 'poison' and 'toxin' were found in deleted messages, and 'colchicine' was typed into the phone at least three times.
The defense had the chance to call one of its witnesses who is leaving the country. Holly Hilts was a patient of Mary Yoder's and saw her the morning of July 20, the day Yoder became ill.
"Her energy was a little lower and she had redness in the inside of her eye, around her eyelid and the bottom part, kind of like when you have hay fever or get ill," Hilts said.
Hilts also said she saw the victim's husband, William Yoder, doing work at the receptionists' computer one day on a weekend, but doesn't remember what time of year that was.
May 4 -- 1:55 p.m.
DNA experts were called to testify Thursday in the Kaitlyn Conley Trial. She's charged with poisoning her boss, 60-year old Mary Yoder, in 2015.
During an interview with police, Conley admitted to writing anonymous letters to the Onondaga County Medical Examiner's Office as well as the Oneida County Sheriff's Office. They claimed her ex-boyfriend, Adam Yoder, was responsible for his mother's death.
The letters, envelopes and stamps were tested for DNA. Forensic scientist Cheryl Moorhead said Conley's DNA was discovered underneath the stamp.
The letter also led police to the bottle and receipt for the toxin that killed Yoder.
The bottle was wrapped in a cardboard sleeve. The DNA sample collected from that item was a mixture of several people, but Moorhead testified the major contributor was Conley.
The judge allowed the defense to have another DNA expert sit at their table during Thursday's testimony. She may testify for the defense.
May 3 -- 7:30 p.m.
Prosecutors are more than halfway through their list of witnesses in the Kaitlyn Conley trial. On Wednesday, two investigators, who have testified previously, returned to the stand for more questioning.
Lead investigator Mark VanNamee spoke about three separate interviews he conducted with Conley. It was during the third interview that Conley revealed she was the author of the anonymous letters that accused the victim's son of the crime. After learning that information, VanNamee says Conley became a suspect.
The remainder of the third interview was videotaped and was played for the jury Wednesday.
Investigator Michael Simmons also returned to the stand. He spoke more about the typewriter he took from the Yoders' chiropractic office. Simmons says the typing left behind on the tape inside the typewriter could be compared to the addresses typed on the anonymous letters' envelopes.
Testimony will continue Thursday morning.
May 2 -- 7 p.m.
The man who was, at one point, questioned in the death of his own mother took the stand again in the Kaitlyn Conley murder trial.
Adam Yoder continued testifying Tuesday. He was extensively questioned by police after an anonymous letter claimed he poisoned his mother and left the colchicine bottle in his vehicle.
Other witnesses testified Tuesday that the colchicine was purchased using prepaid debit cards in Yoder's name and a gmail account called MrAdamYoder1990. Yoder says he never created, used, deleted or knew about that account.
He underwent a lengthy cross-examination by the defense, who questioned his character and certain things he did following his mother's death in July 2015. That included quickly moving to live with his sister in Long Island immediately after being questioned by police.
May 1 -- 5 p.m.
Another member of the victim's family took the stand. On Monday, the victim's son Adam Yoder was called to testify. Yoder was Kaitlyn Conley's on-again-off-again boyfriend for several years.
It wasn't until months after Mary Yoder died that police began the investigation into her death. Two Oneida County sheriff's investigators also took the stand Monday. They say one of their biggest breaks in the case was after receiving two anonymous letters. One was sent to the Onondaga County Medical Examiner's Office, the other to the Oneida County Sheriff's Office.
The author of the letters claimed Adam Yoder was responsible for his mother's death and said the colchicine package was under the passenger seat of his car. Before consenting to a search by police, Yoder asked for an attorney.
"I had just discovered, after showing me the portions of the letter, someone is intentionally trying to frame me," Yoder said. "I'm scared. I've never been in this situation before at all, I've never been interrogated by police, so it seemed like the smartest thing for me to do is at least consult a lawyer before moving forward."
Prosecutors say Conley wrote the anonymous letters.
The prosecution did not finish questioning Yoder. He will continue his testimony Tuesday morning.
May 1 -- 1:33 p.m.
Testimony starts back up in the Kaitlyn Conley murder trial.
Today Investigator Michael Simmons took the stand. He is an investigator with the forensic identification unit with the Oneida County Sheriff's Office.
Throughout testmony, Simmons testified about the he evidence collected and submitted. Most interestingly, there was an envelope collected from Kaitlin Conley's trash that was ripped up.
Simmons taped the envelope back together - on the front "Onondaga County" is written several different times in different ways
— Cara Thomas (@CaraThomasNews) May 1, 2017
April 28 -- 5 p.m.
After being married 37 years, having three children and a successful chiropractic business, William Yoder says time with his wife, Mary, had never been better.
"It was wonderful. It was better than it had ever been," William said on the stand Friday. "It just seemed to be getting better every day; it was really [that] we just loved being together."
But on July 20, 2015, Mary Yoder became ill and what seemed to be a stomach bug turned out to be something much worse.
Yoder died at Faxton St. Luke's Hospital after suffering organ failure and a cardiac arrest. It took several months before the medical examiner's office determined she died from colchicine toxicity -- a highly toxic medicine typically used for gout.
Prosecutors believe Kaitlyn Conley poisoned Mary Yoder. She was their office receptionist and their son's on-again-off-again girlfriend. But the defense argues it was Mary's husband.
The defense asked Yoder during cross examination if he wanted to have an open marriage. Yoder said while it was discussed, they decided not to. He says he was never unfaithful. Yoder began dating his sister-in-law soon after his wife's death, but he says that wasn't planned.
"I was 70 years old," Yoder said. "It felt like I had nothing at all left in my life, no future ... I saw this as a chance for a little companionship and human warmth."
The defense also believes Yoder was keeping his father's $400,000 inheritance from his wife. Yoder says she knew about it all along. The money was to go to their retirement and a month-long trip to Europe.
April 27 -- 5:18 p.m.
Jurors in Kaitlyn Conley's murder trial heard from a total of 11 prosecution witnesses Thursday. Nine of the 11 witnesses who testified were patients at Chiropractic Family Care, the Yoders’ business. They all saw Mary Yoder, who Conley is accused of killing, on July 20, 2015, the day she became ill.
All of the patients testified that Mary Yoder and Kaitlyn Conley were the only two employees at the office that day. Conley was the receptionist at Yoder's chiropractic office. But the defense asked if they looked in every room in the building, and all of the witnesses said no.
Patients who saw Yoder in the morning and early afternoon of July 20 said she was her typical bubbly self, but her last two patients of the day said they could tell something wasn't right.
"She just kept leaving this room and going out to the main area where the bathroom is and I could hear the bathroom door opening and closing and it was very A-typical," said Luciann Gould. "I don't ever remember, in 20 years, her ever using the bathroom during treatment."
Yoder died of colchicine toxicity, a very deadly toxin that is typically used to treat gout.
Two expert witnesses involved in helping determine Yoder's cause of death testified that the levels of colchicine found in her blood and gastric fluid were extremely high.
April 27 -- 12:44 p.m.
Two witnesses took the stand Thursday morning in the Kaitlyn Conley trial.
The first was forensic pathologist Ayko Chan-Hosokawa. She tested the blood, urine and gastric fluid samples taken during Mary Yoder's autopsy.
Hosokawa says the presence of levels of colchicine in the samples were very high -- the samples needed to be significantly diluted to get an accurate measurement.
Jeanna Marraffa was next to testify. She is a clinical toxicologist at the Upstate NY Poison Center in Syracuse.
Marraffa says Yoder's gastrointestinal symptoms, organ failure and several cardiac arrests led her to believe she had been exposed to colchicine. She says the amount of the toxin in Yoder's body indicated she must have ingested a very large amount of colchicine, between 33 to 53 mg.
April 26 -- 5 p.m.
Five witnesses took the stand in the first day of testimony of the Kaitlyn Conley murder trial today.
Four medical professionals, and Yoder's oldest daughter, Liana Hegde also took the stand.
In her emotional testimony, she disputed many of the defense's claims about Yoder's family.
She provided an alibi for her brother, Adam Yoder, who Conley told police was at fault through an anonymous letter.
The defense also claims the victim's husband was keeping inheritance money from his wife., but Hegde said Yoder was aware of the money
They were going to use it to pay for a lengthy vacation.
More prosecution witnesses will take the stand Thursday.
April 26 -- 2:30 p.m.
Judge gives jury instruction - criminal background of a witness is only to judge credibility. Clark had been convicted of a DWI.
— Cara Thomas (@CaraThomasNews) April 26, 2017
Judge Dwyer is reading a document with the results of the supplements. They all tested negative for the presence of Colchicine.
— Cara Thomas (@CaraThomasNews) April 26, 2017
April 26 -- 12 p.m.
Four witnesses have testified so far in the trial against Kaitlyn Conley. Two doctors who treated the victim, Mary Yoder, at Faxton St. Luke's Hospital took the stand.
When Yoder first arrived at the hospital she had stomach pain, was vomiting and having diarrhea. Her condition continued to rapidly worsen and doctors say they could not figure what was causing her illness. Yoder coded about seven times before she died.
"It was very disturbing to me that not only did I not have a good understanding or feel for what the inciting event was thought obviously we had abdominal concerns, but why did it get so bad so quickly to the point where none of my resources could help," said Dr. Maria Gesualdo, a critical care doctor.
Currently on the stand is the pathologist who was tasked with performing Yoder's autopsy. Dr. Kenneth Clark said externally, Yoder appeared to be a healthy 60-year-old woman. During the internal examination, Clark said her intestines were extremely discolored, something he's never seen before.
Clark says Yoder's tissue cells were injured and killing themselves. After having several tests performed, it was eventually determined the toxin in Yoder's system that caused this damage was colchicine, commonly used for gout.
April 25 -- 6:35 p.m.
Opening statements were held in the case of an Oneida County woman accused of killing her boss. Kaitlyn Conley is charged with poisoning 60-year old Mary Yoder in 2015.
The assistant district attorney spoke Tuesday about how evidence led police directly to Conley, who was a receptionist at Yoder's chiropractic office. The prosecution reminded jurors that the victim's son, Adam, was a person of interest. Anonymous letters claimed Adam poisoned his mother with colchicine, a very deadly toxin. The vial and receipt were also found in Adam's truck, but police believed he was being framed.
It wasn't until an interview with police that Conley became a suspect. Police say Conley wrote the anonymous letters, signed for the poison when it was delivered to the office, and that her DNA proves it.
The defense believes otherwise, pointing the finger at the victim's husband, William Yoder. They say William had access to the poison and motive to murder his wife. They highlighted some suspicious things William did after his wife's death, including dating his sister-in-law. The defense says there's enough evidence to have reasonable doubt.
Witnesses will begin taking the stand Wednesday. About 60 people are expected to testify.