Lisa Snyder, the Pennsylvania mother on trial for the hanging deaths of her two young children, has been found guilty, according to reports.
Local WFMZ, ABC 6, and The Reading Eaglereported that Snyder, 41, was found guilty Tuesday, Sept. 24, of first-degree murder, child endangerment and evidence tampering in a Berks County courtroom. First-degree murder convictions in Pennsylvania automatically carry a life sentence.
The Pennsylvania mother was found guilty of killing her two children, 8-year-old Conner and 4-year-old Brinley, in September 2019.
As previously reported that Snyder was arrested in December 2019 in connection with their hanging deaths. The Pennsylvania mother initially claimed to police that she called 911 after discovering her two children hanging from a support beam in the family’s basement from the opposite ends of the same dog lead and two chairs overturned beneath them.
Snyder had told police her son was being bullied at school and made reference to wanting to die by suicide, and to not die alone. But several family members and employees at the 8-year-old’s school testified that Conner was never bullied at school, was not suicidal and never experienced sudden emotional changes, according to WFMZ.
The outlet reports that at the trial, prosecutors presented Snyder’s internet searches in the days leading up to her kids’ murders, on topics like suicide and the true crime TV show I Almost Got Away With It.
Prosecutors also provided evidence during the trail that showed Snyder purchased the dog lead used in her children’s murders the day before at a local Walmart, according to ABC 6.
“We are very pleased with the verdict,” Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams tells us. “It’s something that will probably never leave our minds, because it was unimaginable. None of us could ever have imagined the brutality and the horrific loss of life. We’re very pleased that Lisa Snyder will never see the light of day and will spend the rest of her life in jail where she belongs.”
Conner and Brinley were discovered unconscious in the family’s basement after Snyder called 911, and the two children were pronounced dead at Lehigh Valley Hospital three days later, according to WFMZ.
The outlet also reports that Snyder’s adult son Owen Snyder testified during his mother’s trial, referring to her as “Lisa” rather than as “Mom.”
When asked why he was referring to Snyder that way, WFMZ reports that Owen told the courtroom he no longer considers her his mother.
Snyder’s sentencing will take place in October, according to ABC 6.
