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MEAWW.COM / NEWS / CRIME & JUSTICE

Pennsylvania mom accused of hanging kids in basement and having sex with dog will get public fund for trial

Lisa Rachelle Snyder is facing several charges in the deaths of her children, eight-year-old Conner Snyder and six-year-old Brinley L Snyder, and faces the death penalty if convicted
PUBLISHED AUG 15, 2020
Lisa Rachelle Snyder (Berks County District Attorney's Office)
Lisa Rachelle Snyder (Berks County District Attorney's Office)

ALBANY, PENNSYLVANIA: A Pennsylvania mom who is facing first-degree murder charges in the deaths of her two young children who were found hanging in the basement of their home was declared indigent by a judge and told she would receive public funds to pay for her defense.

The 36-year-old Lisa Rachelle Snyder was arrested over the deaths of her two children, eight-year-old Conner Snyder and six-year-old Brinley L Snyder after they were found unresponsive in the basement of their Albany Township home on September 23, 2019.

First responders had found the children hanging three feet apart from the opposite ends of a dog leash that was wrapped around the main support beam in the basement. Two chairs were also found tipped on the floor on either side of the victims. Both were in full cardiac arrest as they were flown to a nearby hospital and while they were briefly revived en route, they were taken off life support three days later and declared dead just 14 minutes apart.

Snyder was subsequently charged with first-degree murder, tampering with evidence, endangering the welfare of children in connection to their deaths, as well as animal cruelty and sexual intercourse with a dog after it was found she had sent sexually explicit pictures of herself having oral sex with the dog to an unknown man nicknamed "Daddy".

The 36-year-old, who could face the death penalty if she is convicted, has repeatedly professed her innocence and won a small victory when a Berks County judge approved her request for public funds to fight her charges. Snyder had applied to be considered indigent, pointing out that she had not held a job for at least five years. Prosecutors had challenged her filing and highlighted how she owned a car worth around $23,000.

While officials did not publicly explain why Snyder, who is not married, did not work or how she supported herself and her children, it was believed that they were receiving support from the Berks County Children and Youth. At a hearing in June, her attorney, Dennis Charles, cleared some of the air and said her parents were paying for her legal fees.

He said her only asset was a 2017 Ford Fusion that she had acquired by trading a Jeep but that the car's title was transferred to her parents following her arrest. He told the judge that she needed money from the public to hire legal experts who can testify on her behalf. This past week, Judge Paul Yatron sided with the defense and granted Snyder's motion to proceed "in forma pauperis" or without the ability to pay for a defense, reported the Morning Call. 

Snyder, who has denied any involvement in her children's deaths, previously claimed that Connor had killed himself and his younger sister because of depression over bullying and had "made threats of doing this, but didn’t want to go alone".

However, one of her friends, 27-year-old Maigan Sandt, questioned this version of events and said she had a nagging suspicion Snyder was responsible because of the oddly emotionless texts she received from the mom as her children fought for their lives in the hospital. "I never expected this to happen but when I saw the news and realized it was her, I had that gut feeling because it just all seemed impossible for Conner to do," she said.

Snyder remains in the Berks County Jail without bond and will return to court for a pretrial hearing in November.

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