Lisa Snyder is a Pennsylvania woman convicted of first-degree murder for hanging her two young children, eight-year-old Conner and four-year-old Brinley, in the basement of their Albany Township home in September 2019. After a bench trial in Berks County Court, Judge M. Theresa Johnson found her guilty in September 2024 and sentenced her to two consecutive terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole. The Superior Court of Pennsylvania affirmed her sentence on March 18, 2026.
What Happened to Conner and Brinley Snyder
On September 23, 2019, Conner, age eight, and his sister Brinley, age four, were found hanging in the basement of their family’s home in Albany Township, Berks County. Both were suspended from opposite ends of a single plastic-coated cable dog lead wrapped around a basement support beam. Two overturned dining room chairs sat nearby.1Oxygen. 911 Call Offers Details on Hanging Deaths of Conner Snyder, Brinley Snyder The children were taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest and placed on life support. They were removed from life support and pronounced dead on September 26.2Fox 29. Timeline of Deaths of 2 Children Found Hanging in Berks County
Lehigh County Coroner Eric Minnich ruled the cause of death for both children as hanging and the manner of death as homicide.3NBC Philadelphia. Mother Snyder Murder Charges Kids Dead in Home
Why Investigators Rejected Snyder’s Bullying Story
Snyder told 911 dispatchers and investigators that Conner had been bullied at school and had threatened to take his own life. On the 911 call, a dispatcher relayed her account to a fire captain, noting the eight-year-old “didn’t want to go alone” and “may be the aggressor of the situation.”1Oxygen. 911 Call Offers Details on Hanging Deaths of Conner Snyder, Brinley Snyder She then updated her Facebook profile: “Words scar, rumors destroy, bullies kill.”
The story collapsed under scrutiny. Teachers, a counselor, a bus driver, and therapists from the Kutztown School District testified that Conner was a “cheerful child” with no signs of depression or suicidal thoughts.4Reading Eagle. Son Testifies Against Mother Accused of Killing His Two Siblings School bus footage from that morning showed him behaving normally.56abc. Lisa Snyder Case: Berks County PA Mother Sentenced in Hanging Deaths of 2 Young Children An occupational therapist concluded it would have been extremely difficult for an eight-year-old to hang himself, let alone also hang his four-year-old sister.3NBC Philadelphia. Mother Snyder Murder Charges Kids Dead in Home Owen Snyder, the children’s seventeen-year-old brother, told the court Conner was a “happy-go-lucky kid” who loved school and had seemed confused when asked about the alleged bullying.
The evidence recovered from Snyder’s electronics was worse. In the days and weeks before the killings, she had searched for information about suicide, death by hanging, and “how to kill someone,” along with episodes of the true-crime series I Almost Got Away With It.6NBC News. Woman Sentenced to Life in Deaths of 2 Young Kids Found Hanging in Basement Investigators also found searches related to carbon monoxide poisoning.7WJAC-TV. Mother of 2 Kids Found Hanging in PA Home Gets 2 Life Sentences for Murders Snyder had ordered the cable dog lead online the night before the hangings and picked it up from a local Walmart on the morning of September 23.8Oxygen. Lisa Snyder Allegedly Bought Dog Leash Same Day Kids Were Found Hanged
Snyder was arrested on December 2, 2019, and charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of third-degree murder, endangering the welfare of children, and tampering with evidence. She was held without bail.9The Morning Call. Pennsylvania Mom Charged With Murder, Accused of Hanging Her Children
The Plea Deal a Judge Refused to Accept
On November 17, 2023, prosecutors and defense counsel presented a negotiated plea to President Judge M. Theresa Johnson. Snyder would have pleaded no contest but mentally ill to two counts of third-degree murder in exchange for a sentence of twenty to forty years, avoiding mandatory life imprisonment.10Newsday. Pennsylvania Brother-Sister Hanging Deaths District Attorney John Adams said Snyder “meets the threshold set up under the law that she is mentally ill.” Judge Johnson rejected the agreement on the spot: “I am not accepting that plea agreement. It doesn’t serve the interests of justice.”11The Morning Call. Judge Rejects Plea Deal for Lisa Snyder Prosecutors then announced they would seek either life imprisonment or the death penalty at trial.
The Bench Trial and the Verdict
Snyder waived her right to a jury and was tried before Judge Johnson beginning September 16, 2024. The trial lasted seven days.12Reading Eagle. Murder Trial Begins for Berks Woman Accused of Killing Two of Her Children
The prosecution, led by District Attorney John Adams and Assistant District Attorney K. Kenneth Brown, argued Snyder killed Conner to rid herself of the burden of motherhood and then killed Brinley because the four-year-old had witnessed the first crime. Brown called the killings “planned, calculated” and told the court Snyder’s decision to fabricate the bullying story showed she knew her actions were wrong and had not blacked out during a psychotic episode.13Reading Eagle. Lisa Snyder Found Guilty of Murdering Two of Her Children A prosecution mental health expert testified that although Snyder had a history of anxiety and depression, he found no evidence of bipolar disorder or PTSD and nothing indicating she could not distinguish right from wrong at the time of the killings.146abc. Lisa Snyder Case: Pennsylvania Mother Found Guilty in Hanging Deaths of 2 Young Children
The defense ran two theories in the alternative. Lead attorney Dennis Charles argued there was “not a shred of evidence” tying Snyder physically to the scene, and that her searches reflected her own suicidal ideation rather than intent to harm her children.146abc. Lisa Snyder Case: Pennsylvania Mother Found Guilty in Hanging Deaths of 2 Young Children If the judge concluded she had done it, the defense asked her to find Snyder not guilty by reason of insanity, citing diagnoses of bipolar disorder, PTSD, borderline personality disorder, major depression with psychotic features, and dissociative disorder.15The Morning Call. Lisa Snyder, Accused of Hanging Children in Berks County, Will Mount Insanity Defense A defense psychiatrist testified that Snyder could have been in a “psychotic state” and had not formed the intent to kill. Counsel asked the judge to send her to a hospital rather than prison, calling her “sick, not evil.”13Reading Eagle. Lisa Snyder Found Guilty of Murdering Two of Her Children
On September 24, 2024, roughly an hour after closing arguments, Judge Johnson found Snyder guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of endangering the welfare of children, and one count of tampering with evidence. She rejected the insanity defense.13Reading Eagle. Lisa Snyder Found Guilty of Murdering Two of Her Children
The Sentence
Snyder was sentenced on October 17, 2024. Owen Snyder, then twenty-two, was the only witness to give a victim impact statement. Speaking directly to his mother, he said: “Since Sept. 23, 2019, I don’t consider you my mother. I consider you a monster.” He added, “That day I didn’t just lose my brother and sister, I lost my mother as well.”16Reading Eagle. Convicted Child Killer Lisa Snyder Sentenced to Two Life Terms in Prison
Judge Johnson imposed two consecutive terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murders, plus eight and a half to seventeen years for the child endangerment and evidence tampering counts, followed by two years of probation. The judge called the crime the most violent murder she had seen on the bench and said Snyder had never shown any remorse.6NBC News. Woman Sentenced to Life in Deaths of 2 Young Kids Found Hanging in Basement
The Appeal and Its Denial
Snyder appealed to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, docketed as No. 480 MDA 2025 (Commonwealth v. Lisa Rachelle Snyder, lower court No. CP-06-CR-0000570-2020). She raised two issues. She challenged the qualifications of prosecution mental health expert Dr. John O’Brien to testify on the insanity defense, and she argued Judge Johnson should not have presided over the bench trial after rejecting the earlier plea agreement.
The Superior Court found both claims waived. The expert-qualification argument had not been properly preserved through a post-sentence motion, and the challenge to Judge Johnson’s continued involvement had not been included in Snyder’s required statement of issues on appeal. On March 18, 2026, a three-judge panel of Judges Bowes, Dubow, and Neuman affirmed the judgment of sentence in a non-precedential memorandum decision.17Pennsylvania Courts. Commonwealth v. Lisa Rachelle Snyder, 480 MDA 2025 Snyder remains incarcerated under her life sentences.