Mom Hanged Son, 8, and His Sister, 4, from Basement Beam, Then Tried to Blame Son by Saying He'd Been Suicidal

Mar. 15, 2025

Brinley and Conner Snyder.Photo:Facebook

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Lisa Snyder, the Pennsylvania mother on trial for the hanging deaths of her two young children, has been found guilty, according to reports.

Local news outletsWFMZ,ABC 6, andThe Reading Eaglereported that Snyder, 41, was found guilty Tuesday, Sept. 24, of first-degree murder, child endangerment and evidence tampering in a Berks County courtroom. First-degree murder convictions in Pennsylvania automatically carry a life sentence.

The Pennsylvania mother was found guilty of killing two of her children, 8-year-old Conner and 4-year-old Brinley, in September 2019.

PEOPLEpreviously reportedthat Snyder was arrested in December 2019 in connection with their hanging deaths. The Pennsylvania mother initially claimed to police that she called 911 after discovering her two children hanging from a support beam in the family’s basement from the opposite ends of the same dog lead and two chairs overturned beneath them.

Lisa Snyder.

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Prosecutors also provided evidence during the trail that showed Snyder purchased the dog lead used in her children’s murders the day before at a local Walmart, according to ABC 6.

“We are very pleased with the verdict,” Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams tells PEOPLE. “It’s something that will probably never leave our minds, because it was unimaginable. None of us could ever have imagined the brutality and the horrific loss of life. We’re very pleased that Lisa Snyder will never see the light of day and will spend the rest of her life in jail where she belongs.”

Lisa Snyder.AP Photo/Michael Rubinkam

AP Photo/Michael Rubinkam

Conner and Brinley were discovered unconscious in the family’s basement after Snyder called 911, and the two children were pronounced dead at Lehigh Valley Hospital three days later, according to WFMZ.

The outlet also reports that Snyder’s adult son Owen Snyder testified during his mother’s trial, referring to her as “Lisa” rather than as “Mom.”

When asked why he was referring to Snyder that way, WFMZ reports that Owen told the courtroom he no longer considers her his mother.

Snyder’s sentencing will take place in October, according to ABC 6.

source: people.com