A mother from Pennsylvania, accused of hanging her two children with a dog leash in 2019, cried throughout her trial as her surviving adult son distanced himself from her.
Lisa Snyder, 41, started her trial last week, confronting serious charges of first- and third-degree murder related to the tragic deaths of her two young children, Connor, 8, and Brinley, 4.
In September 2019, a boy and girl were discovered hanging by the same dog leash in the basement of her home in Albany Township. They were admitted to the hospital, but passed away three days later after life support was discontinued.
On Tuesday, Owen Snyder, 22, took the stand to testify against his mother.
“I just don’t see her as my mother anymore,” Owen Snyder stated, while Lisa Snyder cried from her seat, according to the Mainline Times & Suburban.
Lisa Snyder has consistently asserted her innocence, attributing the tragedy to Connor and suggesting that his struggles with depression led to the deaths of both himself and Brinley. Owen Snyder firmly rejected the allegations during the trial, noting that Connor’s height would have made it challenging for him to hang anyone.
“He was a happy-go-lucky kid,” Owen Snyder said.
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“He always wanted to be doing something. He was always playing with his little sister.”
The trial examined Lisa Snyder’s phone records, revealing Google searches for “how to hang yourself” and recent viewing history for the show “Almost Got Away With It” just days prior to her children’s deaths.
Prosecutors are pushing for Lisa Snyder to receive the death penalty. If found guilty of first-degree murder, she could be sentenced to life in prison at the very least.
Since 1999, there have been no executions in Pennsylvania, as reported by the Death Penalty Information Center.
The wooden kitchen chairs involved in the hanging were presented to the judge, who will determine her fate, as there is no jury in this case.
Throughout the entire situation, Lisa Snyder displayed no emotions, only allowing tears to fall when Owen Snyder voiced his opposition to her.
Her defense argued that she did not hang her children; however, they maintained that even if she had, she was clinically insane and deserved to be placed in a psychiatric hospital instead of prison.
Officials reported that Lisa Snyder purchased a dog leash on the same day her children were discovered hanged in her basement.
After making the first 911 call about her son’s suicide, authorities quickly grew doubtful and discovered a lack of evidence backing her statement.