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Thread: Death Penalty Sought for Lisa Rachelle Snyder in 2019 PA Murder of Conner and Brinley Snyder

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    Death Penalty Sought for Lisa Rachelle Snyder in 2019 PA Murder of Conner and Brinley Snyder





    December 2, 2019

    Mom Lisa Snyder charged with murder of kids found hanging in basement

    By Jackie Salo
    New York Post

    The Pennsylvania mom of two kids found hanging in their basement has been charged with their murders, officials said.

    Lisa Snyder, 36, was arrested Monday at her Albany Township home where the two siblings were discovered Sept. 23 hanging in the basement, news station Fox29 reported.

    The children — Conner Snyder, 8, and Brinley Snyder, 4 — were both unresponsive and hanging from the same dog leash, the Reading Eagle reported.

    The cord was wrapped around the main support beam of the basement and two chairs were overturned nearby, according to the reports.

    They were brought to Leigh Valley Hospital, where they were placed on life support and died three days later, the Reading Eagle reported.

    The coroner said both autopsies were inconclusive and more forensic testing is needed to determine the cause of death.

    Officials are expected to announce more details about the mom’s arrest Monday afternoon at a press conference.

    https://nypost.com/2019/12/02/mom-li...g-in-basement/
    Last edited by Steven; 01-28-2020 at 08:20 AM.

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    Mom to Stand Trial in Deaths of Kids Found Hanging in Pa. Home

    Lisa Snyder is accused of killing her children, Conner and Brinley Snyder

    NBC10 Philadelphia

    A mother has been ordered to stand trial on murder charges in the deaths two young children found hanging in an eastern Pennsylvania basement last fall.

    A Berks County district judge district judge made the ruling Wednesday after hearing almost four hours of testimony in the case of 37-year-old Lisa Snyder. She's charged with first- and third-degree murder, child endangerment, and evidence-tampering in the September deaths of 4-year-old Brinley and 8-year-old Conner.

    Snyder was led into court Wednesday in a yellow prison shirt and handcuffs.

    Defense attorney Dennis Charles argued Wednesday that prosecution case amounted to only "speculation and guesswork." Assistant District Attorney Margaret McCallum said Snyder was the only adult in the house when the children were found hanging in the basement of the Albany Township house. They died three days later.

    Snyder has maintained that the children killed themselves. She had alleged that the boy was bullied, but authorities said there was no evidence of that, and he showed no sign of distress on bus security video that day. An occupational therapist said the boy wasn't physically capable of harming himself or his sister in that way.

    A series of witnesses testified Wednesday, including Snyder's cousin who said Conner never mentioned being bullied and acted like a typical 8-year-old when around his friends. One of Snyder's friends also testified that Snyder told her not to testify about Snyder telling her about a week before the killing about a Google search about a method of death.

    The judge scheduled Snyder’s formal arraignment for March 12. Prosecutors must let the court know by that date whether they plan to seek the death penalty in the event the defendant is convicted of first-degree murder.

    Berks County authorities said the hearing was moved to Reading from a Hamburg district court office due to security concerns.

    https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news...nyder/2294852/

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    Death penalty sought against woman charged in kids' hanging deaths

    69 News

    READING, Pa. - Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty against a Berks County mom accused of killing her two kids.

    Lisa Snyder appeared in court Thursday morning and pleaded not guilty on two counts each of first- and third-degree murder as well as two felony charges of endangering the welfare of children.

    She is accused of killing her 8-year-old son, Conner, and her 4-year-old daughter, Brinley, by hanging them with a dog lead from the basement ceiling in the family's Albany Township home on Sept. 23.

    Snyder, who was arrested Dec. 2, initially placed blame on Conner, saying that he was being bullied in school, wanted to commit suicide, and didn't want to die alone, according to investigators, who said they have found no evidence to support that claim.

    She is due back in court on June 29.

    https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/berks...4fd3e9715.html

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    Berks County mother charged with killing her son and daughter requests county help in paying for her defense

    The Albany Township mother charged in the hanging deaths of her son and daughter claimed Monday in Berks County Court that she is indigent and needs taxpayer funds to help pay for her defense.

    Lisa R. Snyder, 37, who is charged with 2 counts each of 1st- and 3rd-degree murder along with related counts in the killings of her 2 youngest children, appeared before Judge Paul M. Yatron for a status hearing.

    Her attorney, Dennis Charles of Allentown, said Snyder couldn’t afford her defense and filed a motion requesting funding for court experts she’ll need for her trial.

    Yatron took the motion under advisement.

    Yatron granted Charles’ request for additional time to prepare his pretrial motions.

    Snyder is next scheduled to appear in court in November for another status hearing.

    Assistant District Attorney Meg McCallum said she couldn’t comment on details of the hearing because it was held in-camera, meaning in private.

    Charles was unavailable for comment.

    Snyder’s son Conner, 8, and daughter Brinley, 4, were found hanging and unresponsive in the basement of their home at 2442 Route 143 on Sept. 23. They were revived on their way to the hospital, but both were pronounced brain dead, taken off life support 3 days later and died, officials said.

    Snyder was arrested Dec. 2 and has been held in the county prison without bail since.

    Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against her, saying the crimes meet the threshold of aggravating factors required in Pennsylvania for a capital case. The primary aggravating factors are that there were 2 victims and both were children, District Attorney John T. Adams said.

    According to police, court records and testimony at Snyder's preliminary hearing:

    Police and medics were called to the home by Snyder and they found the children hanging from opposite ends of a plastic coated dog lead that had been wrapped around the main support beam of the basement ceiling.

    Each end of the lead was wrapped around the victims' necks. 2 chairs were tipped over on the floor on either side of the bodies, which were about 3 feet apart.

    When Snyder spoke with first responders she wasn't crying, and told them that Conner was being bullied at school, appeared stressed when he got off the school bus that day and asked her for the dog lead before going into the basement with his sister.

    Other witnesses contradicted her claims that Conner was depressed.

    Conner's occupational therapist said the boy wasn't physically capable of fastening the dog lead around his own neck, let alone his sister's.

    Internet searches from a number connected to a missing phone of Snyder's were found for how to hang oneself with a "short drop, single suspension."

    Her online accounts also showed photos of her forcing a dog to perform sex acts on her, so she was also charged with bestiality and cruelty to animals.

    (source: pottsmerc.com)
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Lisa Snyder, accused of hanging children in Berks County, will mount insanity defense

    By Laurie Mason Schroeder
    The Morning Call

    Lisa R. Snyder, the Berks County mother accused of hanging her two children in the basement of her home last year, will mount an insanity or mental infirmity defense, court records show.

    Snyder’s attorneys also have asked a judge to separate charges related to sexually explicit photos of Snyder and her dog from the homicide case.

    Snyder, 37, of Albany Township, is charged with first-degree murder and other crimes in the deaths of 8-year-old Conner and 4-year-old Brinley Snyder. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

    In a 43-page motion filed in preparation for a hearing in Berks County Court on Thursday, Snyder’s attorneys asked that the dog-related charges be severed from the case, arguing that evidence connected to the charges of sexual intercourse with an animal and cruelty to animals “will impermissibly inflame the passions of, and unfairly prejudice the jury.”

    Attorneys Dennis G. Charles and James J. Burke are asking for a change of venue and sealing of crime scene photos. They’re also requesting that Snyder’s Google search history in the weeks leading up the children’s death not be shown to a jury, saying the “lewd, lascivious and taboo nature” of the evidence would taint the jury pool.

    State police have said that Snyder searched topics including suicide, drug overdoes, death by hanging and how to kill someone. Snyder’s lawyers argue in the motion that the searches, which state police say Snyder conducted using Conner’s Google account, have not been authenticated.

    Snyder has a “chronic history of severe mental disorders,” her attorneys said in the motion, including major depression with psychotic features, anxiety disorder, affective disorder and post-partum depression dating back to when she was 16 years old.

    At the time of the alleged homicides, the motion states, Snyder was afflicted with major depressive disorder that was recurrent and severe, as well as borderline personality disorder and symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder, multiple personality disorder and dissociative disorder.

    Snyder’s mental illness manifested in suicidal ideations and a perception that her children were being harmed physically and emotionally by others, her lawyers contend. The mental illness brought out a “desire to protect her children from feelings of abandonment and/or to alleviate the painful feelings and situations they were experiencing at the time,” the motion states.

    According to 911 recordings, Snyder told paramedics who responded to her call about finding her children hanging that Conner was being bullied in school and had talked about taking his own life and “didn’t want to go alone.”

    Assistant District Attorney Margaret McCallum declined to comment on the motion Thursday. Prosecutors said previously that there’s no evidence Conner was bullied.

    Snyder’s attorneys also filed motions to suppress her statements to police, her Facebook messages, items found during a search of her home and on several mobile devices, including the phone police say she used to order the dog leash her children were hanged with.

    Paramedics responded to Snyder’s home at 2442 Route 143, near Kempton, around 4:40 p.m. on Sept. 23 and found Conner and Brinley unresponsive and in cardiac arrest.

    The children were hanging 3 feet apart from a “single wired cable with plastic coating and ends containing swivel eye snap hooks,” according to a search warrant. The wire was wrapped around the main support beam of the basement and each end of wire wrapped around the children’s necks. Alongside the victims were two wooden dining room chairs knocked over, court records say.

    First responders were unable to revive the children with CPR. They were rushed to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, where they were taken off life support three days later.

    Snyder denies the charges, saying she found the children and was unable to get them down because she was having an anxiety attack that made her sweat profusely.

    In the weeks after her children’s deaths, Snyder created a Facebook page in their memory. She was arrested Dec. 2 following an investigation, and charge with first-degree murder, third-degree murder, tampering with evidence, endangering the welfare of children, animal cruelty and sexual intercourse with a dog.

    Snyder is being held in the Berks County Jail without bail. She was not brought into the courtroom for a brief hearing Thursday before Judge Paul Yatron.

    Snyder’s next court date is Feb. 12.

    https://www.mcall.com/news/police/mc...4t4-story.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Berks judge holds off on decision in Lisa Snyder case

    There's still no decision about exactly how the trial will proceed for a Berks County woman who's accused of killing her two young children.

    A judge on Friday didn't issue a decision at a hearing for Lisa Snyder, who stands accused of killing her 2 children by hanging them from a dog lead in the basement of the family's home in Albany Township in September 2019.

    Snyder's attorneys want an out-of-county jury to hear the trial because of extensive publicity the case has received in Berks. They also want to have some of the charges tried separately.

    Snyder remains in the Berks County Jail without bail on charges of 1st- and 1rd-degree murder.

    Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

    (source: WFMZ news)
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    Judge rejects plea for Pennsylvania woman charged with killing her 2 young children

    By Michael Rubinkam
    The Associated Press

    READING, Pa. (AP) — A judge on Friday rejected a plea agreement for a Pennsylvania woman charged with killing her two young children, who were found hanging in the basement of their home nearly four years ago.

    Lisa Snyder, 40, sought to plead no contest but mentally ill to two counts of third-degree murder in the September 2019 deaths of 4-year-old Brinley and 8-year-old Conner. The children were taken off life support and died three days after they were found in the home in Albany Township, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia.

    Berks County President Judge Theresa Johnson rejected the plea as soon as it was presented to her by a prosecutor and ended the hearing after just a few minutes, shutting down a defense lawyer who tried to interject.

    “I am not accepting that plea agreement,” Johnson declared, adding, “It doesn’t serve the interests of justice.” She then stalked out of the courtroom.

    The case will now head to trial, where Snyder faces charges of first-degree murder, child endangerment and evidence tampering.

    District Attorney John Adams declined to say why prosecutors had agreed to let Snyder plead no contest to the reduced charge of third-degree murder, which carries a sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison.

    “We don’t contest the fact that she’s mentally ill, and she meets the threshold set up under the law that she is mentally ill,” he said in a phone interview after the hearing.

    Snyder’s defense lawyers had no comment. Snyder had no reaction to the judge’s ruling and ignored a reporter’s questions outside of the courtroom.

    Snyder, who made the initial 911 call, had told police her son was bullied and had been threatening to take his own life. But authorities were immediately suspicious of her claim of suicide, and said they found no evidence to support it. The boy showed no outward signs of trouble on school bus security video recorded that day, and an occupational therapist later said he wasn’t physically capable of causing that kind of harm to himself or his little sister.

    Police said they found evidence that Snyder went online for information about suicide, death by hanging and how to kill someone, and that she’d also looked for episodes of a documentary crime series called “I Almost Got Away With It.” Snyder also admitted going to a store to buy a dog lead on the day the children were found hanging from it, authorities said.

    A coroner said both children were killed by hanging and ruled the deaths homicides.

    “I don’t think that I can stand up here, nor can anyone, explain the horrific loss of two innocent children’s lives. I think it goes without explanation,” Adams, the prosecutor, told reporters when Snyder was charged in December 2019, more than two months after the killings.

    The defense had planned an insanity defense, citing a “chronic history of severe mental disorders.” Her lawyer has said Snyder had severe depression, borderline personality disorder, dissociative disorder and other mental illness at the time of the homicides.

    Prosecutors had indicated they would seek the death penalty.

    https://toronto.citynews.ca/2023/11/...g-in-basement/

    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  8. #8
    Senior Member CnCP Addict maybeacomedian's Avatar
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    Pretty detailed summary of the case, up to this point:

    I don't care whether murderers go to heaven or hell; I just care about getting them there.

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