Mother goes on trial for murdering her two young children and sexually assaulting the family dog – after trying to pin blame on eldest child
- Lisa Snyder allegedly killed her two young children by hanging them at home
- Conner, eight, and daughter, Brinley, four, were found in Reading, Pennsylvania
- Both children died three days later after being taken off life support by doctors
- Snyder was then charged with two counts each of first-and third-degree murder
- She was also charged with tampering with evidence, endangering the welfare of children, animal cruelty and sexual intercourse with a dog
A mother has appeared in court charged with killing her two young children, blaming her ‘suicidal’ eight-year-old son and sexually assaulting the family dog.
Lisa Snyder is accused of hanging her son Conner, eight, and her four-year-old daughter, Brinley, at their home in Reading, Pennsylvania.
The 37-year-old is alleged to have told authorities that the children had threatened suicide.
Investigators said she told police Conner was being bullied at school and wanted to commit suicide, but did not want to go alone so he killed his sister as well using a dog lead.
But officers said they found no evidence to support that claim and a witness told Berks County Courthouse on Wednesday that Conner was ‘incapable of doing this’, The Morning Call reported.
Lisa Snyder has been charged with the murders of her son Conner and her daughter Brinley at their family home in Reading, Pennsylvania
Lisa Snyder was arrested at her home on Monday morning for the deaths of 8-year-old Conner Snyder and his 4-year-old sister Brinley
Court records also show Snyder Googled ‘carbon monoxide in a car how long to die’, ‘hanging yourself’ and ‘I almost got away with i best episodes [sic]’ in the weeks before the children died last September.
Both children were found hanging by first responders after Snyder called 911.
The children were said to have been found suspended from opposite ends of the same plastic-covered dog leash.
Assistant District Attorney Margaret McCallum told the judge the boy did not have the dexterity to fasten the dog lead into two nooses.
She said: ‘Conner was incapable of doing this to himself. He was incapable of doing this to his sister.’
Conner and Brinley died in hospital when doctors took them off life support, three days after their were discovered at home.
In December a coroner said both children died of hanging and ruled their deaths homicides.
Snyder was arrested in December after a coroner ruled the deaths of her two children were homicides. The pair died in hospital three months earlier
Snyder’s eight-year-old son, Conner (left), and four-year-old daughter, Brinley (right), were found hanging from a dog leash in the basement in late September
Snyder was then arrested and charged with two counts each of first-and third-degree murder.
According to a friend who testified in court, the mother planned to take her own life after her arrest if she was released on bail.
District Judge Kim Bagenstose ordered Snyder to stand trial and face charges over the alleged murders.
She is charged with third-degree murder, tampering with evidence, endangering the welfare of children, animal cruelty and sexual intercourse with a dog.
The dog-related charges stem from sexually explicit photos of Snyder with the family pet that were uncovered during the lengthy police investigation and are not related to the homicide charges.
As police were going through Snyder’s social media content, they allegedly uncovered evidence on Facebook Messenger, including photos, suggesting the woman had sex with the family dog, previously described as a medium-sized husky-pit bull mix.
The pet has been given away since the deaths of the children.