Authorities now believe Mary Whitaker victim of random robbery

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

The more that facts and details emerge, the more horrific the death of Mary Whitaker becomes.

Authorities in New York State now believe Whitaker, a 61-year-old world-class violinist who was born and raised in Greencastle, was the victim of a random, brutal home-invasion robbery when she was killed last Wednesday morning, Aug. 20, at her secluded summer home near Lake Erie.

She was the senseless victim of a pair of homeless men who court documents claim wanted to "live like rock stars" and thought stealing someone else's valuables could be the conduit to such riches.

Mary E. Whitaker

In the process, they ended up wantonly taking the life of Mary Whitaker, who had played her unintended final concert only hours earlier.

And instead of living like rock stars, Jonathan Conklin, 43, and Charles Sanford, 30, were arrested two days later and are now being held without bond in the Chautauqua County Jail at Mayville, N.Y., facing federal and state charges in the gruesome case.

Court documents indicate Sanford, known as a drifter who frequented the Erie, Pa., area, laid out a scenario for authorities, explaining that the pair planned to buy drugs and even a large flat-screen TV with whatever cash or credit cards they could steal.

The two men, court records show, met several months ago at an Erie homeless shelter. And just last week, Conklin reportedly hatched the plan he thought could move them beyond their homelessness.

After a friend drove the men to southwestern New York -- where Whitaker's summer home sits on a hill at the Sherman-Westfield town line -- they reportedly robbed an apartment above a bar in Sherman. Court documents indicate Conklin claimed the apartment belonged to a man who owed him money, so the pair made off with shotguns and a .22-caliber rifle in a predawn theft.

Now armed and looking for a score, they walked toward Westfield, stopping randomly, investigators now believe, at the single-story ranch house where Whitaker was apparently still sleeping after performing at the season finale of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra the night before.

The suspects' plan was simple. Sanford would ring the doorbell and pretend his car had run out of gas, and then ask the occupant of the house to use a telephone. Conklin, armed with the rifle stolen a couple hours earlier, would be hiding in the bushes and surprise the good samaritan who answered the door.

Court documents indicate they put that plan into action at 7 a.m., although the door bell didn't initially rouse Whitaker and forced Sanford to resort to pounding on the front door, he told authorities.

After Whitaker answered and offered to let Sanford use her phone, Conklin surprised her.

When the victim reacted with a scream, Conklin reportedly fired the weapon in response, the bullet striking Whitaker in the chest. A struggle for the rifle reportedly ensued and she was shot in the leg as well.

With Whitaker still alive, Conklin apparently ordered his partner to drag her into the garage and kill her with his knife (which a stab to the neck failed to do) while Conklin went to search the house for money and anything valuable.

The perpetrators ended up leaving Whitaker to bleed to death on the garage floor while they rummaged through the house for credit cards and her checkbook before fleeing the scene in her car.

As widely reported earlier, Whitaker's lifeless body was discovered Wednesday afternoon by another orchestra member who had come to check on her after being unable to reach her via phone.

In the meantime, the suspects drove back to Erie, Pa., and went to Walmart where they reportedly enticed a female friend with drugs to pose as Whitaker in using her credit cards to purchase a flat-screen TV.

But when they used those credit cards at a Pennsylvania convenience store on Friday, Conklin and Sanford were caught on surveillance video and arrested.

A 1971 Greencastle High School graduate, Mary Elizabeth Whitaker was the daughter of the late John and Frances Whitaker, who owned and operated Whitaker Funeral Home (now Bittles and Hurt) in Greencastle throughout much of the 1950s, '60s and '70s.

After graduating from Indiana University, she moved to New York City with a performance degree in violin. Over the past three decades she was associated with many of the major freelance orchestras in New York, touring regularly and was also part of Barbra Streisand's 2006-07 international tour.

A member of the Westchester Philharmonic for 25 years, she played regularly on Broadway in shows like "The Lion King" and spent summer months performing with the Chautauqua Symphony.

No funeral service information has yet been made available.

(For more perspective on this incident, please read Eric Bernsee's opinion column HERE

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