The woman accused of hanging her two children at the family’s Berks County home in 2019 may have reached a plea deal with prosecutors who had intended to seek the death penalty in the case.
Court papers say Lisa Snyder — charged with first-degree murder and other crimes in the deaths of 8-year-old Conner and 4-year-old Brinley Snyder — is scheduled for a plea and sentencing hearing Nov. 17.
Thursday morning, District Attorney John Adams said he couldn’t comment on whether the filing is accurate.
“I would only say ‘Stay tuned for her next court hearing,’” he said.
Snyder’s attorney, Dennis Charles of Allentown, said he had no comment.
Paramedics responded to Snyder’s home at 2442 Route 143, near Kempton in Albany Township, on Sept. 23, 2019, and found Conner and Brinley unresponsive and in cardiac arrest.
The children were hanging 3 feet apart from a “single wired cable with plastic coating and ends containing swivel eye snap hooks,” according to a search warrant.
The wire was wrapped around the main support beam of the basement and each end was wrapped around the children’s necks. Alongside the children were two wooden dining room chairs that were knocked over, court records say.
Paramedics were unable to revive the children with CPR. They were rushed to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, where they were taken off life support three days later.
Snyder has denied the charges, saying she found the children and was unable to get them down because she was having an anxiety attack that made her sweat profusely.
She told first responders that her son was bullied at school and had talked about ending his life in the weeks leading up to the hangings. Prosecutors have said there is no evidence that Conner was bullied.
Charles and co-counsel James J. Burke filed motions indicating they will pursue an insanity or mental infirmity defense, saying Snyder has a “chronic history of severe mental disorders,” including major depression with psychotic features, anxiety disorder, affective disorder and postpartum depression dating to when she was 16.
Source: Berkshire mont