Lisa Snyder, a woman from Pennsylvania, has been sentenced to two life terms without parole for the murder of her two young children. The children, 4-year-old Brinley and 8-year-old Conner, were found hanging in the basement of their home in September 2019. Snyder showed no reaction during her sentencing hearing and declined to address the court. President Judge Theresa Johnson described the crime as the most violent murder she had seen and noted that Snyder had shown no remorse.
Owen Snyder, the older brother of the children, called his mother a “monster” and expressed the loss of the children’s future. Lisa Snyder had initially claimed her son was bullied and threatened to take his own life, but authorities found no evidence to support this claim. The defense unsuccessfully sought an acquittal, arguing that the case was based on speculation. Snyder had attempted to plead no contest but mentally ill to third-degree murder, but the judge rejected the plea agreement.
Evidence presented during the trial included Snyder’s online searches for information about suicide and death by hanging, as well as her viewing of a documentary crime series. The coroner ruled the children’s deaths as homicides caused by hanging. The judge imposed an additional 8 1/2 to 17 years on child endangerment and evidence-tampering charges. Overall, the case was a tragic and disturbing example of a mother convicted of the murder of her own children.
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