Mom Who Hanged Kids & Said Her Son Did It Because He Was Bullied Now Found Guilty of Murder

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In 2019, two children, ages 8 and 4, were found hanged from a rafter in the basement of their Pennsylvania family home. The scene was devastating for everyone involved: two little bodies on two ends of a plastic dog leash, with chairs tipped over nearby. Everything pointed to suicide — the mother said her 8-year-old son had been bullied. But after further investigation, things were not what they seemed.

As police pieced together what led to the death of such young children in such a way, they discovered that the children’s mother was likely involved more directly in their deaths. Months after they died, she was charged with their murders. And now, a jury has found her found guilty.

The mother was found guilty on all charges.

WFMZ reported that the jury found Lisa Snyder guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, endangering the welfare of a child, and evidence tampering, in a trial that began in mid-September. Judge Theresa M. Johnson found that Snyder had killed her two children, 8-year-old Conner and 4-year-old Brinley, in September 2019, by hanging them in the family basement.

First-degree murder charges in Pennsylvania automatically come with a life sentence. ABC 6 reported that Snyder’s sentencing will take place in October.

The guilty verdict is what prosecutors hoped for.

WFMZ reported that during the seven-day trial, Snyder’s adult son, Owen, took the stand to testify. During questioning, Owen referred to Snyder as “Lisa,” and not “Mom.” When asked why, he said he no longer considers her his mother, which caused the woman to break down in tears.

“We are very pleased with the verdict,” John T. Adams, Berks County district attorney, told 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.”

Lawyers brought in some interesting evidence during the trial.

According to WFMZ, the prosecution brought in Snyder’s Google search history in the days and hours leading up to the children’s deaths. Evidence showed Snyder had visited a website that demonstrates how to hang yourself, and searches for the best episodes of the TV show, Almost Got Away With It.

Investigators also discovered the plastic dog leash used to hang the children was a recent purchase.

“This dog lead cable had been ordered by the defendant the day before — on Sept. 22, 2019 — and Lisa Snyder picked up this dog cable on Sept. 23 at 9:30 a.m. from the Walmart in Hamburg,” DA Adams said at the time of Snyder’s arrest in 2019.

Snyder had claimed that Conner was being bullied, and it made him suicidal.

Snyder told police that Conner, who was in the third grade at Greenwich-Lenhartsville Elementary School, was being bullied, and it had driven him to have suicidal thoughts, but he didn’t want to die alone.

But when investigators questioned school officials, they refuted her claims, saying that Conner had never expressed a desire to kill himself or give other indication that he was being bullied. On the first day of the trial, one witness said that she did not see any signs of depression in Conner. Another school employee testified that Conner always seemed sociable with classmates, and that she didn’t notice emotional changes in him.