Pa. Mom Charged With Murder 2 Months After Kids, 8 and 4, Are Found Hanging in Basement
Authorities in Pennsylvania have confirmed the arrest of a 36-year-old mother in connection with the deaths of two of her children, who were found hanged in their home’s basement in late September.
Law enforcement officials in Berks County will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. about the charges against Lisa Rachelle Snyder.
On Monday, Snyder was charged with first-degree murder, third-degree murder, tampering with evidence, endangering the welfare of children, animal cruelty and sexual intercourse with a dog, according to online records.
She is being held without bail. Information on her attorney, if she has one, was not immediately available.
Police previously had said the two young siblings were found Sept. 23 by their mother, hanging from a basement support beam next to chairs that had been tipped over.
In audio obtained by the Morning Call of Allentown, dispatchers alert police to a 911 call from the mother of 8-year-old Conner Snyder and Brinley Snyder, 4.
During the call, the dispatcher informs the officers of the situation, saying that the mother told them Conner was “bullied” at school and “made threats of doing this” before.
RELATED: Mom Finds Son, 8, and Daughter, 4, Hanging From Basement Rafters With Chairs Tipped Over Nearby
As the audio continues, the dispatcher relays to responding officers that Conner had specified in his threats that he “didn’t want to go alone.”
Police continued to investigate the case, revealing very little about their findings until this morning.
At this point, it is unknown how detectives allegedly connected the mother to the children’s deaths, or what evidence helped them build their case.
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According to police, the mother said she’d returned to their home around 4:30 p.m., finding two dining room chairs tipped over on the floor near her children’s bodies.
RELATED: Pa. Boy Found With Sister Near Death in Basement Was ‘Bullied,’ ‘Didn’t Want To Go Alone’: 911 Call
The children were unconscious and in cardiac arrest when they were found, but medics revived them en route to the hospital. However, on Sept. 26, both children were removed from life support, dying within 14 minutes of each other.
It is unknown if Snyder was the one who signed off on removing them from life support systems.
Days after the children died, Snyder took to Facebook, updating her profile with a photo and the saying, “Words scar, rumors destroy, bullies kill.”
Several electronic devices were seized from Snyder’s home in Albany Township.
Four search warrants were executed at the home, where Snyder’s teenage son is also a resident.
