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Suspicions turned to college student Christopher Porco soon after his parents, Peter and Joan Porco, were attacked with an ax in the middle of the night back in 2004. It seemed unimaginable.  Christopher came from a stable, middle-class family.  He did well in high school, scoring 1400 on his SATs.  But Christopher had dark secrets.

Once Christopher was in college, he created a false image of himself as a trust fund kid, buying rounds of drinks for his friends, designer clothes, and a customized jeep.  He financed this lifestyle with thefts and forged student loans. But Christopher was failing his classes and his lies were catching up with him.  Once Peter and Joan learned that Christopher had forged his father’s name on a $30,000 loan, they were shocked and angered.  Both parents attempted to reason with him, but things had already gone too far.  When Peter failed to show up for work one Monday in November, he was found dead of massive head injuries inside his home. Joan was still alive, but barely. 

The case against Christopher Porco was circumstantial but strong.  Today at the quiet end, we’re talking about a brutal murder and attempted murder planned and perpetrated by a most unlikely suspect. At the heart of this case is the love of a mother for her son and the power of denial.

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Mary Jane Fonder was a 65-year-old woman living in Springfield Township, Pennsylvania. She was known to be a bit of a loner—socially awkward, emotionally fragile, and very involved in her local church, Trinity Evangelical Lutheran. But behind her reserved demeanor simmered a potent mix of envy and resentment, a hidden inner turmoil that would ultimately erupt into a shocking and tragic act of violence.

Join us for Between the Pews: Faith, Envy & Murder. In early 2008, a new face appeared at the church: Rhonda Smith, a 42-year-old woman looking for comfort and a supportive community after a difficult life. She quickly became a beloved member of the congregation, receiving support and attention from the pastor and others—attention that Mary Jane would grow to resent.

Sources

A life in prison, Bucks County Courier Times, Amanda Cregan, 1/17/2010., retrieved 6/23/2025.

Guilty: Jury says Mary Jane Fonder killed Hellertown resident Rhonda Smith, lehighvalleylive.com, retrieved 6/20/2025.

Love Me or Else by By Colin McEvoy and Lynn Olanoff

Murder suspect noted church killing on calendar, police say. PennLive.com, retrieved 6/20/2025.

Pastor says he asked Fonder to leave church, Unnerved: Testifies suspect's behavior upset him, even before shooting. tribunedigital-mcall, retrieved 6/20/2025.

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In the early morning hours of July 22, 1987, a motorist came across a black Cadillac that had crashed into a telephone pole on a secluded road in Santa Clarita, California. When police were called to the scene, they found two unresponsive young women inside the car. The driver, who was later identified as 45-year-old Claire Peernock, had severe head trauma and was pronounced dead at the scene. Claire's 18-year-old daughter, Natasha, who was in the passenger seat, also suffered severe head trauma, but she miraculously was still alive.

Join us for A Dangerous Mind: Robert Peernock. When Claire filed for a divorce that was still pending, she sought custody of Natasha and her younger sister. Claire had also asked the court for an order of protection from Robert, citing multiple instances of threats and abuse. So Claire had known that Robert could be a dangerous man, but not even she could have predicted his twisted plot to eliminate the people he was supposed to love and protect.

Sources

A Checklist for Murder by Anthony Flacco

Family Secrets LA Forensics, 2/19/2014. Retrieved 6/25/2025.

Man Charged with Soliciting Murders, Daily News of Los Angeles, 12/11/1987. Retrieved 6/20/2025.

Man Tried to Kill Wife and Daughter by Staging a Fatal Car Wreck, Oxygen, Becca Van Sambeck, 1/24/2023. Retrieved 6/29/2025.

Missing Man is Accused of Murdering Wife, Los Angeles Times, Gabe Fuentes, 8/23/1987. Retrieved 6/30/2025.

Prosecutors: Short Fuse, S1 E11, 2000. https://tubitv.com/tv-shows/319989/s01-e11-short-fuse. Retrieved 6/30/2025.

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Nailah Franklin was a young pharmaceutical sales rep for Eli Lilly. Until September 2007, she was casually dating Reginald Potts, a 32-year-old businessman. The two broke up when Nailah learned about Reginald’s lengthy criminal history and sexual relationships with other women.  But, unfortunately, things did not end there.

Join us at the quiet end for our rewatch of Smoke & Mirrors. In this episode of Dateline Unforgettable, Keith Morrison looks back at the case of a Chicago woman from a big family who went missing. Investigators began to suspect a man in her life who was full of secrets.

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Dennis Jurgens was a chubby, joyful, and active toddler when Harold and Lois Jurgens adopted him in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. Unable to have children of their own, Lois and Harold adopted several children over the years. Dennis wasn’t their first or last. From the very beginning, case workers from the adoption agency had their concerns about whether Lois would accept Dennis, but homes were scarce and there was nothing factually wrong that would prevent the placement. The signing of the adoption papers sealed Dennis’ fate.

Join us today for The Terrible and Totally Preventable Death of Dennis Jurgens. One cold and wet Sunday morning, a local doctor responded to a call from Harold Jurgens, who said, “I think my son is dying.” When Doctor Peterson arrived, he found a 3-year-old’s body, long dead and clearly beaten. The cause of Dennis’ death was peritonitis from a ruptured bowel. But why had Dennis’ bowel ruptured? Lois and Harold claimed that Dennis had taken a fall, but that would not explain the multiple bruises of every shape and color that peppered his tiny body. On his death certificate, where “homicide” should have been, the coroner wrote “deferred.” This failure to acknowledge that a crime had even occurred or punish the perpetrator would leave five more children at risk of leading tortured lives, being murdered, or both.

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On December 16, 2004, Becky Harper made a call to 911 after checking in on her 23-year-old daughter, Bobbie Jo. Bobbie Jo, who was 8 months pregnant, was lying on the floor in her home and something was horribly wrong. Paramedics raced to the scene, where they found Bobbie Jo dead with devastating injuries to her abdomen. Bobbie Jo had been brutally killed and her unborn baby was missing.

In today's episode, A Life for a Life, we will discuss this case as well as a couple of similar cases and the phenomenon of fetal abductions. Investigators found no signs of forced entry into Bobbie Jo’s home, suggesting that she may have known her killer. An Amber Alert was put out for the baby as detectives canvassed the neighborhood. They found one witness, who reported seeing an unfamiliar car parked out front. Investigators would learn that Bobbie Jo’s murder was premeditated and the motive was the abduction of Bobbie Jo’s baby. Efforts to find the baby and solve this murder would lead investigators to a twisted plot and an unexpected perpetrator.

Sources

Baby Be Mine by Diane Fanning, 2006.

Biden Administration orders Halt on Federal Executions After Surge Under Trump, Forbes, Walsh Joe, retrieved 6/4/2025.

Murder in the Heartland by William Phelps, 2006.

United States v. Montgomery, Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, 4/5/2011.

The women who kill for babies, BBC news, Summers Chris, 10/1/2007, retrieved 6/5/2025.

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One April evening in 1991, Ann Racz’s three children waited for her to pick them up some burgers and fries at the local McDonalds, which was less than a mile away. But instead of seeing Ann’s white minivan pull into the driveway, their father showed up hours later with a small bag of cold French fries. He said that their mother had gone away on a trip to think things over. This was so unlike Ann, who planned everything and put her children above all else, that Ann’s children didn't believe it. Neither would the police.

Join us at the quiet end for The Disappearance of Ann Racz. 42-year-old Ann had been planning to divorce her husband John for several months.  She had rented a condo and moved her and her children’s belongings there before she vanished. No one believed John Racz’s story, but there was no evidence that anything had happened to Ann. Years went by while her children tried to understand where she could be and their father behaved strangely, never fully cooperating with the investigation. The circumstantial evidence and suspicions were piling up, but could investigators prove murder without a body?

Sources

Ex-deputy held in death of wife in ’91, LA Times, Andrew Blankstein, 10/24/2006.

John Racz v. Sircoya Williams, Warden, Respondent, ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE WHY PETITION SHOULD NOT BE DISMISSED AS SUCCESSIVE, Petition of Habeas Corpus, 3/20/2025.

Prime suspect, Dateline NBC, 3/ 22/2023.

You'll Never Find My Body, Don Lasseter.

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When Monica Dunn, a beautiful mother of three, was shot to death in her home, her husband was with her. But he claimed she had done it to herself. The couple had become estranged after months of infidelity and vicious arguments, so Monica’s police officer husband Paul Dunn was the logical suspect in her death. Paul maintained that he was innocent, but no one believed him. He was ostracized by his fellow law enforcement officers and friends, despised by Monica's family, and lost custody of his children.

Join us at the quiet end for Presumed Guilty: The Mysterious Death of Monica Dunn. Monica and Paul lived a life of passion and volatility. After Monica’s sudden and violent death, shocking secrets about her life and relationships revealed a marriage that was doomed from the start. Would a trial provide closure to Monica’s family or would the reason for her death remain forever unknown?

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On the morning of October 24, 1961, Martin Risch left for Logan Airport to catch an early flight for an overnight business trip in Manhattan. Later that afternoon, the police were called out to his family home in Lincoln, Massachusetts.  A neighbor reported that the Risch’s 4-year-old daughter, Lillian, had returned from a playdate after finding the kitchen covered in blood. Her mother, Joan, was nowhere to be seen, but her 2-year-old brother was safe in his bed.

Join us at the quiet end for Vanished in Blood. After Joan Risch was reported missing, there was speculation throughout the country about what could have happened to this wealthy young mother and homemaker. Early theories were that she had staged her death to escape a life she no longer wanted, that she had undergone a botched abortion, or that she had been assaulted, abducted, and murdered. Today we’re going over the events of October 14, 1961 as well as the years before and the years since Joan’s mysterious disappearance.

Sources

A Kitchen Painted in Blood by Stephen H. Ahern

Joan Carolyn Risch, The Charley Project, ret. 10/4/2023, https://charleyproject.org/case/joan-carolyn-risch

The Mysterious Disappearance of Joan Risch, The Grunge, Jennifer Deutschmann, 2/15/2022, ret. 10/2/2023 https://www.grunge.com/768932/the-mysterious-disappearance-of-joan-risch-explained/

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Susan Woods’ naked body was found with her head in a bathtub full of black water in 1987. In her small town of Stephenville, Texas, her murder was especially shocking and unimaginable. Susan was a softspoken and beautiful young woman, living alone since her biker husband had left her and fled the state. When she missed her shift at the local sandpaper factory, her father was notified.  Sadly, he would be the one to find her body.

Join us at the quiet end for Not the Usual Suspect. Murders were very rare in Stephenville, and Susan’s case was the worst anyone there had seen. Since there was no sign of forced entry, detectives believed that Susan had known her killer. Suspicions quickly turned to her estranged husband, Michael. When he left Susan, he had left behind a cassette tape disparaging her for destroying their marriage. His anger frightened her, so nearly everyone thought he was responsible. But the case went cold, and Susan’s loved ones feared no one would ever be held responsible for her brutal murder. Until DNA testing changed everything.

Sources

The 1987 murder of Susan Woods, a Stephenville sweetheart, Brooklyn McKinney, 11/8/2024, retrieved 2/12/2025.

Everyone in Stephenville Thought They Knew Who Killed Susan Woods, Texas Monthly, Bryan Burrough, 7/2023, retrieved 2/12/2025.

The Monster at Large, Dateline NBC, S29 E 31, 2/12/2021.

Stephenville Podcast, Texas Monthly, June-July 2023.There is a Monster in Me, 20/20, ABC, S47 E15, 1/19/2024.

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