Pennsylvania mother sentenced in hanging deaths of 2 young children
ALBANY TWP., Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- The Pennsylvania mother convicted in the killings of her two young children who were found hanging in the basement of their Albany Township home five years ago was sentenced this week.
(The video in the player above is from previous coverage.)
On Thursday, Lisa Snyder, 41, was sentenced to two consecutive sentences of life in prison without parole, followed by 8 -17 years in prison on the remaining charges.
Last month, Snyder was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, endangering the welfare of a child and evidence tampering.
RELATED: Mom charged with murder in hanging deaths of 2 children in Berks County
Authorities said Snyder's children, 4-year-old Brinley and 8-year-old Conner, were found hanging by a cable dog lead in September 2019 , which Snyder later admitted to buying.
The children were hospitalized and later taken off life support three days later.
After Berks County prosecutors rested their case, defense attorney Dennis Charles unsuccessfully sought an immediate acquittal, calling the case based on speculation and theory and "all guesswork," The Reading Eagle reported.
Snyder had told police her son was bullied and had threatened to take his life, but authorities said they found no evidence to support her claim. The boy displayed no signs of trouble that day on a school bus security video. An occupational therapist later said he wasn't physically capable of causing that kind of harm to himself or his little sister.
Police also cited the defendant's online searches for information about suicide, death by hanging and how to kill someone as well as episodes of a documentary crime series called "I Almost Got Away With It."
Charles said internet searches on suicide, hangings, carbon monoxide poisoning and drug overdoses indicated suicidal thoughts on her part rather than an intention to kill her children. He also said prosecutors lacked physical evidence to support their case, and a recording of Snyder's 911 call and descriptions of her by emergency responders were consistent with what one would expect from a mother finding her children hanging.
A psychiatrist reportedly testified that abuse experienced by Snyder and years of various mental health issues could have contributed to her being in a psychotic state at the time of the incident. The psychiatrist also testified that, even within this state, Snyder "did not inform the intent to kill her children."
But the prosecution brought its own mental health expert to testify about Snyder's mental capacity, disagreeing with the explanation given by the defense. The expert said he did not believe Snyder has bipolar disorder or PTSD. Despite her history of anxiety and depression, at the time of the children's deaths, the expert said there was nothing he saw in his evaluation that would indicate Snyder wouldn't know right from wrong.
A judge last year rejected a plea agreement under which Snyder would have pleaded no contest but mentally ill to two counts of third-degree murder.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
