Search on for killer
It’s been 27 years since Betty Conley’s death, but friends, family haven’t forgotten her./
It’s been 27 years since her shocking death, but Betty Conley’s friends and family haven’t forgotten her. Dozens of people gathered in the parking lot of the Harmony Corners fire station Saturday to support Conley’s daughter, Linda, and pick up black and yellow signs to take home and put in their yards.
The signs read, “Who Killed Betty Conley?” with a phone number.
On July 8, 1993, Betty Conley was shot and killed while working an overnight shift at the convenience store next door to the fire station. Conley was shot once in the head with a pistol between 2 and 3 a.m. and $100 was missing from the cash register when her body was discovered. The store, at the time an Xtra Mart, is
now the Route 67 Country Store and Cafe.
The Saratoga County Sheriff’s Department still follows leads on the case, but no arrests have ever been made.
Linda Conley was 17 when her mother was killed and had just graduated from Galway High School. Betty Conley, 37, worked two jobs. She was saving money toward her daughter’s college tuition. Linda, a wedding photographer, said she was in shock for many years over her mother’s death, but when business slowed during the COVID-19 pandemic, she decided it was time to do what she could to bring the unsolved case back to light.
A filmmaker friend, Leann Fyvie, created a video out of interviews with Linda and her father, Bruce, and newspaper clippings about the killing.
Drinking coffee and accepting hugs from friends
on Saturday, Linda Conley wiped tears from her eyes as she talked about her mom.
“She always had a big smile, always helpful. She went to every single one of my games and my events at school,” Conley said. “She was always there.”
Betty Conley was no pushover, either. Once, Linda slammed her bedroom door during an argument with her mother. When she turned around, Betty had taken the door off its hinges and was holding it in both hands.
“She said, ‘don’t you ever slam the door on me again,’” Linda said. “And I didn’t.” Betty was also kind and accepting. Linda said.
Over the years, members of Betty Conley’s
family have been frustrated with the sheriff department’s approach to the crime. Linda said she’s hoping fresh eyes will lead to an arrest. Conley said Jeff Brown and Jeff Bouyea, both investigators at the sheriff’s department, have kept up communication with her. Both men were at the event Saturday.
Brown said it helps to see Linda Conley playing an active role because people who have information about the case but don’t want to talk to police might be willing to reach out to her. Brown said many leads involve the same group of people, and every time a new theory or information comes in, Bouyea, the lead investigator on the case, circles back to see if the person was interviewed at the time of Betty Conley’s death, and then talks to the person again to see if what they say matches what they said back then. Many of Conley’s friends think the killer was someone she knew, but Brown said he can’t rule out a stranger, someone who was just passing through town.
Betty Conley was one of eight siblings, many raised by friends and extended family when their mother was too sick to raise them. Linda Knight, the woman who raised Betty from the age of 10, was at the fire station Saturday. She remembers telling Conley she didn’t like her working late at night by herself.
“She told me not to worry, she liked working late because business was slow and it gave her a chance to figure out the taxes on the cigarettes. She said, ‘if anyone does come in and want to rob the place, I’ll make them lunch.’”
All these years later, Knight still can’t believe the kind, loving woman she knew was killed over $100.
“I hope someone comes forward with what they know,” said Vicki Cater, another of Conley’s friends. “She deserves it and we need peace.”
lhornbeck@timesunion. com 518-454-5352 @leighhornbeck