As Mamas Uncut previously reported, on September 23, an 8-year-old boy named, Conner Snyder, and his 4-year-old sister, Brinley L. Snyder, were found hanging from the rafters of their basement ceiling by their mother Lisa Rachelle Snyder. Now a friend is testifying against the mom.
At first, investigators were led to believe that it was Conner who convinced his little sister to hang themselves in act of suicide. It is now being learned that their mother may be behind her children’s horrific deaths.
It was previously reported by the Reading Eagle that the children were found by Lisa hanging from each end of a “plastic coated” dog leash “that had been wrapped around the main support beam of the basement ceiling.” Two chairs taken from the home’s dining room were also found kicked over underneath the children.
After lifesaving measures were performed by first responders, the children were put on life support. Sadly, Conner and Brinley passed away within 14 minutes of each other on September 26.
When their passings were originally reported, Lisa told authorities that her oldest son told authorities that Conner would often play video games and surf the web via an X-Box gaming console.
She also said on the 911 call that her 8-year-old talked about committing suicide before. “She mentioned that the 8-year-old has been bullied and has made threats of doing this, but didn’t want to go alone. … At this time, it should just be the mother and the two children on the scene.”
Friend Testifies Against Mom After Her Two Kids Were Found Hanging In Her Basement
Now, following an investigation, Lisa has been charged with two counts of murder. According to Assistant District Attorney Margaret McCallum, it is believed that Lisa had something to do with Conner and Brinley’s deaths.
According to Cafe Mom, McCallum told the courtroom in February, “Conner was incapable of doing this to himself. He was incapable of doing this to his sister.” As prosecutors argued, it would have been impossible for Conner to take his life and his sister’s life on his own in this specific way.
And the occupational therapist that worked with Conner regularly agreed with the prosecution. According to The Morning Call, the therapist told police that Conner “lacked the dexterity to fasten the dog lead into two nooses.”
One of Lisa’s friends also testified against her, telling the court that about a week after the children’s passing, Lisa texted her saying she needed two strong drinks. After inviting her over to talk about her children, Lisa started getting more comfortable the more she drank.
As The Morning Call reports, Jessica Senft said during her testimony that Lisa told her she was concerned that she might be arrested for her children’s deaths, but that she thought she would get out on bail because she didn’t have a prior record.
She then reportedly told Senft that “when she got out, she would kill herself.” According to The Morning Call, Lisa never reacted while Senft was on the stand.
Following Senft’s testimony and the testimony of several others, District Judge Kim Bagenstose order the 37-year-old to stand trial. On top of two counts of first-degree murder, Lisa was also charged with third-degree murder, tampering with evidence, endangering the welfare of children, animal cruelty and sexual intercourse with a dog.