The Monday after Thanksgiving was a very difficult day for Cliantha Miller-Finn. She stood in a packed church in New York on December 1, and delivered a eulogy for her 18-year-old daughter, Emily Finn. The college freshman died in an apparent botched murder-suicide. Her former boyfriend, Austin Lynch, allegedly shot Finn and then turned the gun on himself. Lynch suffered a gunshot wound to the face, but even if he survives, life will never be the same.
As the New York Post reported, Finn’s funeral took place at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Sayville, Long Island. Finn had sat in the church’s pews many times before. She had her baptism and received her first communion there. No one expected her life to end so abruptly.
In her eulogy, Miller-Finn shared that her daughter said something prophetic during a car ride a few weeks before her death. “Anger is just the result of hurt,” Finn told her mother.
Her mother called Finn a “pure angel” who had big dreams. “She had a calling — her path was to teach, and then she would teach dance. She was going to be dancing, teaching, and enjoying life,” Miller-Finn said with tears in her eyes.
Tragically, it appears the hurt Lynch felt following the breakup manifested as an uncontrollable anger. The pair reportedly dated for three years, and when Finn went to Lynch’s house to return some of his things, the deadly shooting occurred.
No one uttered Lynch’s name during the funeral, but many wore pink, Finn’s favorite color. Her mother noted that even though she’s gone, her daughter continues to send her signs from heaven.
“She’s really letting us know,” she said. “It brings me so much peace to know she’s at peace.”
Lynch’s condition is unknown. He allegedly shot Finn one day before his 18th birthday, meaning he was technically a juvenile. If he survives, a court will determine whether he’ll face trial as a juvenile or an adult. As far as we’re concerned, he allegedly committed a very adult crime and should face the adult consequences.
