Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

Two men have been charged in connection to the death of a violinist with the Chautauqua Symphony. 43-year-old Jonathan Conklin and 30-year-old Charles Sanford were arrested this afternoon in Erie, where the car of 61-year-old Mary Whitaker was found earlier in the day. She was shot to death Tuesday and found in her Westfield home on Wednesday. Conklin and Sanford face federal charges of stealing property and crossing state lines, carjacking, and use of a firearm during a crime of violence. The pair will also face state charges, which will be determined by a grand jury. This is where a possible murder charge would come in. US Attorney William Hochul said the pair face life in prison. He said he will be asking a judge to keep them in jail without bail while they await further court proceedings. “I can sure the Whitaker family, friends that we will do everything in power to make sure neither of these two men ever again walk free from any sort of confinement,” Hochul said during a n...

Investigators believe a violinist with the Chautauqua Symphony probably surprised a burglar in in home on Tuesday, and that person then shot her and stole her car. They say 61-year-old Mary Whitaker was found inside her Westfield home Wednesday afternoon after friends and family members could not contact her. Investigators believe she died of a gunshot wound and had been dead for nearly a day when her body was discovered. Her car was found today in Erie, where at least one of her credit cards was used on Peach Street. Sheriff Joe Gerace, District Attorney David Foley and US Attorney William Hochul will be holding a news conference in Mayville later this afternoon. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947