Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

The two homeless men accused of killing a concert violinist last summer have been arraigned in Chautauqua County Court. 43-year-old Jonathan Conklin and 31-year-old Charles Sanford have already been arraigned on federal charges related to the shooting death of 61-year-old Mary Whitaker. The state charges are second-degree murder and first-degree robbery. They pleaded not guilty and remain in jail in lieu of $1 million cash bail. Prosecutors say on August 20 the men stole a rife, walked to Whitaker’s Westfield home, knocked on the door and said they had to use the phone because their car had run out of gas. Then they shot her, dragged her into her garage, stabbed her, robbed her home and stole her car. Police found them two days later in Erie after tracing calls and purchases made with Whitaker’s cell phone and credit cards. Whitaker played with the Chautauqua Symphony during the summer, and was a member of the Westchseter Philharmonic. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since ...

The two men accused of killing a concert violinist during a robbery in her Westfield summer home have been ordered held without bail after a prosecutor detailed how the victim was shot and stabbed after opening her door to help them. Jonathan Conklin and Charles Sanford said nothing during a detention hearing today in federal court in Buffalo, where they've pleaded not guilty to stealing property and taking it across state lines, as well as carjacking. Police say they killed 61-year-old Mary Whitaker after she agreed to lend them her phone after they told her they had run out of gas. They're accused of driving her car to Erie, where they were arrested after surveillance video showed them using her credit cards. A grand jury will consider state murder charges. Whitaker performed with the Chautauqua Symphony and Westchester Philharmonic. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Federal authorities have released more information about the two homeless men accused of killing a violinist for the Chautauqua Symphony, and how they committed the crime last week. They say 43-year-old Jonathan Conklin and 30-year-old Charles Sanford stole weapons from an apartment in the Town of Sherman before going to the nearby Westfield home of 61-year-old Mary Whitaker. The criminal complaint says they told Whitaker they had run out of gas, and asked to use her phone. Once inside, they shot and stabbed her, stole her credit cards and her car, and drove to Erie, where they used the credit cards, which allowed police to identify them using surveillance video. They are both facing federal charges of stealing property and taking it across state lines, and carjacking. A grand jury will consider murder charges. They are being held without bail. Whitaker, who lived in Manhattan and had a summer home in Westfield, performed with the Westchester Philharmonic and spent summers with th...

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...