WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:02.600 Before we dive into today's episode, I wanted to let 2 00:00:02.680 --> 00:00:06.759 you know about Morbidology Plus, our premium subscription available through 3 00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:10.839 Apple Subscriptions. When you join Morbidology Plus, you'll get completely 4 00:00:10.880 --> 00:00:13.560 ad free episodes, so you can immerse yourself in these 5 00:00:13.599 --> 00:00:17.760 stories without interruption. Plus subscribers also get early access to 6 00:00:17.800 --> 00:00:21.359 new episodes before anybody else, and exclusive bonus episodes of 7 00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:25.640 Morbidology Plus that aren't on the regular podcast platforms. If 8 00:00:25.640 --> 00:00:28.160 you love diving deep into true crime and want to 9 00:00:28.160 --> 00:00:31.199 support the show while getting that extra content, please check 10 00:00:31.199 --> 00:00:35.200 out Morbidology Plus in your Apple Podcasts app Well, let's 11 00:00:35.200 --> 00:01:15.400 get into today's case. 12 00:01:15.400 --> 00:01:21.640 It was a very difficult investigation. Any time that any 13 00:01:21.680 --> 00:01:28.799 of us have to investigate prosecute cases that involved the 14 00:01:28.920 --> 00:01:35.799 abuse or death of an innocent child, it all hits 15 00:01:35.879 --> 00:01:37.400 us in the heart. 16 00:01:57.719 --> 00:02:00.280 Talked into the rolling hills and farmland to be eastern 17 00:02:00.319 --> 00:02:04.159 Pennsylvania lies the small village of Kempton. It's close to 18 00:02:04.200 --> 00:02:06.719 the base of the Blue Mountain Range, a place where 19 00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:11.000 winding roads cut through pastures and forests. Kempton was settled 20 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:15.439 in the eighteenth century, primarily by the Pennsylvania Dutch. These 21 00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:19.800 settlers established farms mills and small churches. By the May 22 00:02:19.879 --> 00:02:22.680 eighteen hundreds, it had a post office, general store and 23 00:02:22.759 --> 00:02:26.199 was becoming a small but active farming community. The arrival 24 00:02:26.199 --> 00:02:28.800 of the railroad helped to shape the village's early economy. 25 00:02:29.599 --> 00:02:32.840 Even today, Kempton has kept its unique charm, but it 26 00:02:32.879 --> 00:02:36.960 has a surprisingly active cultural life for such a rural village. 27 00:02:37.520 --> 00:02:42.120 There's the Wannamaker Kempton and Southern Railroad Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, 28 00:02:42.280 --> 00:02:46.159 and it has a thriving folk festival culture. Life for 29 00:02:46.199 --> 00:02:49.199 the residents is quiet and peaceful, but that was all 30 00:02:49.240 --> 00:02:53.719 shattered one day in September of two thy nineteen, a 31 00:02:53.800 --> 00:02:56.680 nine one one call came into police reporting something so 32 00:02:56.800 --> 00:03:00.000 horrific that it sounded like a scene from a horror mood. 33 00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:05.319 Two children were unresponsive, found hanging from the rafters of 34 00:03:05.360 --> 00:03:23.639 a basement. Lisa Snyder was a single mother raising three 35 00:03:23.719 --> 00:03:26.960 children in a modest white home on a dead end route. 36 00:03:27.560 --> 00:03:31.000 Her eldest Owen, was seventeen years old. Then there was 37 00:03:31.039 --> 00:03:34.000 eight year old Connor and his little sister, four year 38 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:37.599 old Brinley. Connor and Brinley weren't just siblings. They were 39 00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:41.560 best friends, even at that age where older brothers often 40 00:03:41.599 --> 00:03:44.680 want distance from their younger sisters. They were said to 41 00:03:44.680 --> 00:03:49.120 be inseparable. Wherever Connor was, Brinley was always close behind. 42 00:03:50.159 --> 00:03:53.120 At school, their bond was well known. Connor was a 43 00:03:53.159 --> 00:03:57.439 student at Greenwich len Hartsville Elementary School and Brindley had 44 00:03:57.439 --> 00:04:00.039 just started her second year of pre K at the 45 00:04:00.039 --> 00:04:04.360 Early Learning Community. Teachers described them both as warm and joyful. 46 00:04:05.120 --> 00:04:07.080 They were the kind of kids who made an impression 47 00:04:07.759 --> 00:04:10.439 not because they were loud or roidy, but because they 48 00:04:10.479 --> 00:04:15.520 carried something gentle with them. Doctor Christian tem Chyden, the 49 00:04:15.560 --> 00:04:19.040 district superintendent, would later speak of Connor with deep affection. 50 00:04:20.199 --> 00:04:23.439 He remembered how he often earned rewards in school, and 51 00:04:23.560 --> 00:04:26.360 instead of picking a toy or prize for himself, he 52 00:04:26.399 --> 00:04:28.560 would always choose something he could bring home to his 53 00:04:28.680 --> 00:04:33.800 sister Brindley. He recalled, he spoke lovingly of his sister Brindley. 54 00:04:34.800 --> 00:04:37.399 That small act said everything about the kind of boy 55 00:04:37.439 --> 00:04:41.439 that Connor was. Connor had recently discovered the dog Man 56 00:04:41.439 --> 00:04:45.839 book series and had taken to it with a contagious enthusiasm. 57 00:04:46.240 --> 00:04:48.720 He could often have been found giggling during reading workshops 58 00:04:48.720 --> 00:04:52.639 at school. His teacher recalled how his laughter was infectious 59 00:04:53.360 --> 00:04:56.120 kind of sound that started small and then spread through 60 00:04:56.160 --> 00:05:00.519 the class. But reading was in Connor's only passion. He 61 00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:03.240 had a curious mind, especially when it came to science. 62 00:05:04.319 --> 00:05:07.319 He was deeply fascinated by rocks and minerals and loved 63 00:05:07.360 --> 00:05:11.040 to bring his latest finds to show his teacher. He 64 00:05:11.120 --> 00:05:13.720 was a dancer as well, and had mastered the flaws dance, 65 00:05:14.439 --> 00:05:17.839 the kind that requires fast hips and flailing arms. He 66 00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:20.319 wasn't shy about showing it off at any chance he got. 67 00:05:21.399 --> 00:05:24.839 He danced because it made people smile. Brindley was just 68 00:05:24.920 --> 00:05:27.639 four years old, but she was beginning to blossom in 69 00:05:27.680 --> 00:05:30.800 her own way. Kindergarten had opened up a world of 70 00:05:30.839 --> 00:05:34.079 possibility for her, and she loved it. Like so many 71 00:05:34.079 --> 00:05:37.319 little girls her age, she enjoyed the movie Frozen and 72 00:05:37.399 --> 00:05:40.319 dressed up as Elsa or Anna any chance she got. 73 00:05:41.480 --> 00:05:43.920 She had the kind of imagination that turns a living 74 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:47.319 room into a castle, a blanket into a royal cape, 75 00:05:47.680 --> 00:05:59.560 and her big brother into a trusted sidekick. It was 76 00:05:59.639 --> 00:06:02.160 just after four thirty pm on the twenty third of 77 00:06:02.160 --> 00:06:05.920 September twenty nineteen when the nine one one call came in. 78 00:06:07.079 --> 00:06:09.319 The voice on the other end of the line was frantic. 79 00:06:10.399 --> 00:06:13.680 It was Lisa Snyder. She told the dispatcher that she 80 00:06:13.680 --> 00:06:16.360 had just found her two youngest children, eight year old 81 00:06:16.399 --> 00:06:19.360 Connor and four year old Brinley, hanging in the basement 82 00:06:19.399 --> 00:06:22.600 of their home. Lisa said they were suspended by a 83 00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:26.040 single dog leash, a plastic covered chain that had been 84 00:06:26.079 --> 00:06:30.560 looped over a support beam. The chain stretched across the room, 85 00:06:30.879 --> 00:06:34.800 with one end around Connor's neck and the other around Brinley's. 86 00:06:35.439 --> 00:06:38.360 Beneath them, two small chairs had been tipped over, as 87 00:06:38.399 --> 00:06:42.120 if they'd each climbed onto them before stepping off. Lisa's 88 00:06:42.199 --> 00:06:44.879 voice trembled as she explained she had tried to left Brinley, 89 00:06:45.040 --> 00:06:47.480 who wedg just forty pounds, but claimed that she was 90 00:06:47.480 --> 00:06:51.079 frozen with panic and unable to do anything more. She 91 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:55.040 said she'd always feared that something like this might happen. Connor, 92 00:06:55.120 --> 00:06:58.839 she told the dispatcher, had been bullied at school, he 93 00:06:58.879 --> 00:07:03.040 had made suicidal months before, and in her words, he 94 00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:06.519 didn't want to go alone. Now, she said, they were 95 00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:11.360 both hanging from the rafters in the basement. Paramedic Eric 96 00:07:11.360 --> 00:07:13.279 bob and Moyer was the first to arrive at the 97 00:07:13.319 --> 00:07:17.120 Snyder home. The nine one one operator had instructed Lisa 98 00:07:17.160 --> 00:07:19.839 to wait for help outside, but when Eric pulled up 99 00:07:19.879 --> 00:07:23.480 to the house, nobody was there. The front yard was 100 00:07:23.519 --> 00:07:26.759 still and the house was quiet. Eric knocked on the 101 00:07:26.759 --> 00:07:32.079 front door. Lisa eventually opened. She seemed anxious, nervous, even, 102 00:07:32.439 --> 00:07:36.360 but not visibly distraught. She wasn't crying. She must have 103 00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:38.959 been in a state of shock. He thought she was 104 00:07:38.959 --> 00:07:43.040 on her cell phone, distracted, talking to somebody. When Eric 105 00:07:43.079 --> 00:07:46.199 asked whether anybody else was inside the house, she didn't answer. 106 00:07:47.360 --> 00:07:49.920 Without waiting for a response, Eric stepped past her and 107 00:07:49.920 --> 00:07:53.600 made his way inside. He followed an arrow stairwell down 108 00:07:53.600 --> 00:07:57.639 to the basement. To the right. He saw nothing, but 109 00:07:57.680 --> 00:08:00.240 when he turned left, the scene that met him would 110 00:08:00.240 --> 00:08:05.279 stay with him forever. Two small children suspended in mid air, motionless, 111 00:08:05.720 --> 00:08:08.759 each hanging by a loop of a dog chain. It 112 00:08:08.800 --> 00:08:10.680 was the kind of thing that nobody, not even a 113 00:08:10.720 --> 00:08:15.680 season paramedic, is ever fully prepared to see. Two little 114 00:08:15.759 --> 00:08:19.920 chairs had toppled over just beneath them. Eric moved quickly. 115 00:08:20.399 --> 00:08:23.800 He felt their skin. It was still warm. He unclasped 116 00:08:23.839 --> 00:08:27.759 the chain around Brindley's neck and brought her down first. Connor, 117 00:08:27.800 --> 00:08:31.360 who was heavier, couldn't be lowered alone. By then another 118 00:08:31.360 --> 00:08:34.759 paramedic had arrived, and together they carefully removed him and 119 00:08:34.840 --> 00:08:39.600 laid him on the floor. Both children were unresponsive. CPR 120 00:08:39.679 --> 00:08:42.639 began immediately as they fought to see of the children. 121 00:08:42.720 --> 00:08:47.720 Pennsylvania State Trooper Jeremy Hummel arrived outside. He finally says, 122 00:08:47.759 --> 00:08:51.360 standing calmly in the front yard, they're in the basement, 123 00:08:51.440 --> 00:08:55.600 she said, simply. She didn't rush towards the commotion, She 124 00:08:55.639 --> 00:09:00.519 didn't follow them inside. She didn't ask for updates. Instead, 125 00:09:00.559 --> 00:09:04.720 she stood back. Soon after, a medical helicopter was dispatched. 126 00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:09.159 Time was critical now. Trooper Hummel helped carry the stretchers 127 00:09:09.200 --> 00:09:12.279 containing Connor and Brinley out of the basement, through the 128 00:09:12.279 --> 00:09:15.600 house and into the waiting helicopter. They were then flown 129 00:09:15.639 --> 00:09:20.279 to Lehigh Valley Hospital Cedar Crest in Salisbury Township, where 130 00:09:20.320 --> 00:09:25.000 doctors and nurses immediately took over life saving efforts. Miraculously, 131 00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:27.720 both children had been revived while in the air, but 132 00:09:27.759 --> 00:09:30.639 when they arrived at the hospital, it quickly became clear 133 00:09:30.799 --> 00:09:34.399 that they weren't out of the woods. Doctors then delivered 134 00:09:34.399 --> 00:09:37.879 the news that no parent ever wants to hear. Both 135 00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:41.360 Connor and Brindley were brain dead. In medical terms, brain 136 00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:44.399 death means that all activity in the brain, including the 137 00:09:44.399 --> 00:09:49.120 brain stem, has stopped permanently. Unlike a coma, brain death 138 00:09:49.279 --> 00:09:53.919 is legally and medically considered death. There's no possibility of recovery. 139 00:09:54.879 --> 00:09:57.559 Machines might keep the heartbeating for a while, but the 140 00:09:57.600 --> 00:10:02.000 person is essentially gone. The children were placed on live support. 141 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:08.200 Lisa meanwhile began texting her friends. She wrote, I can't 142 00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:11.120 cry any more and I'm completely numb. My life has 143 00:10:11.159 --> 00:10:13.679 been ripped to shreds and it's never going to get better. 144 00:10:14.960 --> 00:10:17.519 For three days, Connor and Brinley remained in the hospital, 145 00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:20.720 their bodies bating only with the help of the machines. 146 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:24.360 Those who knew them held on to hope, even as 147 00:10:24.440 --> 00:10:28.279 doctors offered none. Then on the third day, Lisa sent 148 00:10:28.320 --> 00:10:32.799 another message, They're pulling the plug. There was nothing more 149 00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:35.960 that could be done. Connor and Brinley passed away on 150 00:10:36.039 --> 00:10:39.879 the twenty sixth of September two thousand nineteen, just fourteen 151 00:10:39.879 --> 00:10:44.039 minutes apart. They'd been together in life, and they went 152 00:10:44.120 --> 00:10:49.759 together in death. That evening, Lisa changed her Facebook profile photo. 153 00:10:50.679 --> 00:10:54.720 The image bore a quote in bold letters, words scar 154 00:10:55.159 --> 00:10:59.879 rumors destroy Billy's kill. To anyone on the outside looking in, 155 00:11:00.600 --> 00:11:04.240 it painted a tragic picture to young children driven to 156 00:11:04.279 --> 00:11:08.080 a suicide, packed by the cruelty of others, but not 157 00:11:08.200 --> 00:11:19.240 everybody was convinced. In the days following Connor and Brindley's deaths, 158 00:11:19.600 --> 00:11:23.320 the great stricken image Lisa Snyder projected was that of 159 00:11:23.360 --> 00:11:26.600 a devastated mother who had just lost her entire world. 160 00:11:27.279 --> 00:11:30.080 But behind the scenes, investigators were beginning to question the 161 00:11:30.159 --> 00:11:33.799 versions of events that she had given. Lisa agreed to 162 00:11:33.799 --> 00:11:38.399 come to the police station voluntarily. Detectives were still entertaining 163 00:11:38.440 --> 00:11:41.919 the possibility that this could have been a suicide. If 164 00:11:41.960 --> 00:11:44.840 other children had contributed to that bullying, there was a 165 00:11:44.919 --> 00:11:48.960 chance that charges could be filed. They needed to understand 166 00:11:49.000 --> 00:11:52.679 what Connor had been going through. In the interview room, 167 00:11:52.879 --> 00:11:56.639 Lisa spoke openly. She told detectives that Connor had been 168 00:11:56.679 --> 00:12:00.960 relentlessly bullied at school because of his weight. She said 169 00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:03.240 that he had lost twenty five pounds since the school 170 00:12:03.320 --> 00:12:06.480 year began, and said that he had been starving himself. 171 00:12:07.360 --> 00:12:09.559 Lisa also said that her son had a speech delay, 172 00:12:09.639 --> 00:12:13.519 in developmental challenges, things that had made him a target. 173 00:12:14.559 --> 00:12:18.159 She explained he's a little slower to grasp things, and 174 00:12:18.279 --> 00:12:21.919 kids make fun of him because he was fat. She 175 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:24.799 went on to say that Connor once told her I 176 00:12:24.799 --> 00:12:27.759 would have killed myself already, but I'm scared to go 177 00:12:27.799 --> 00:12:31.840 by myself. She claimed that he hated school and told 178 00:12:31.840 --> 00:12:34.600 her that every day. She said he had been having 179 00:12:34.639 --> 00:12:38.799 mood swings, especially around Brimley. Lisa believed that he may 180 00:12:38.840 --> 00:12:42.360 have been a bit jealous of his little sister. She 181 00:12:42.440 --> 00:12:45.519 told detectives that on the afternoon of September twenty third, 182 00:12:45.960 --> 00:12:48.120 Connor had come home from school and asked if he 183 00:12:48.120 --> 00:12:51.399 could build a fort in the basement, something she said 184 00:12:51.399 --> 00:12:55.480 he loved doing. He wanted to use household items, including 185 00:12:55.480 --> 00:12:59.200 a couple of dining chairs and a dog leash. He 186 00:12:59.240 --> 00:13:03.159 loves building for shorts, that's his thing, she said. Lisa 187 00:13:03.159 --> 00:13:05.720 claimed that Connor had dragged the chairs into the basement, 188 00:13:06.159 --> 00:13:09.799 stopping midway to rest and grab a drink. Then, she 189 00:13:09.840 --> 00:13:12.039 said he invited Brinley to come and play with him. 190 00:13:12.879 --> 00:13:16.159 Lisa was putting away laundry and then stepped outside for 191 00:13:16.159 --> 00:13:19.759 a cigarette. She told the detective she was only gone 192 00:13:19.759 --> 00:13:23.480 for about ten minutes when she came back inside to 193 00:13:23.559 --> 00:13:26.440 ask the kids what they wanted for dinner, she found 194 00:13:26.440 --> 00:13:29.279 them hanging from the beam. She told them she had 195 00:13:29.320 --> 00:13:33.000 tried to lift Brinley, but she couldn't. Her anxiety spike, 196 00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:35.639 she said, caused her to sweat heavily and feel weak. 197 00:13:36.679 --> 00:13:39.279 She even claimed she tried to lift Conner, who weighed 198 00:13:39.279 --> 00:13:41.519 around one hundred and fifty pounds, but said that it 199 00:13:41.559 --> 00:13:45.240 was impossible, so she ran upstairs and called nine one one. 200 00:13:46.600 --> 00:13:50.320 Detectives listened closely to her story. On the surface, it 201 00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:53.480 hid all the right emotional notes, her mother desperate to 202 00:13:53.480 --> 00:13:57.000 see if her children, overwhelmed by anxiety, caught in a 203 00:13:57.039 --> 00:14:02.200 living nightmare, But something about it didn't sit right. Almost 204 00:14:02.200 --> 00:14:06.639 immediately they had their doubts. District Attorney John Adams would 205 00:14:06.679 --> 00:14:11.279 later reflect on that first interview. He stated, I would 206 00:14:11.320 --> 00:14:13.080 agree that we all may think that a mother of 207 00:14:13.200 --> 00:14:16.559 children who have found hanging would make every effort possible 208 00:14:16.600 --> 00:14:21.000 to save them. Lisa's story painted herself as helpless, but 209 00:14:21.039 --> 00:14:24.759 for detectives it raised a different kind of alarm. As 210 00:14:24.799 --> 00:14:29.159 they looked closer, more problems began to emerge. Connor, it 211 00:14:29.200 --> 00:14:31.519 turned out, had a physical disability that would have made 212 00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:34.960 it nearly impossible for him to do what Lisa was suggesting, 213 00:14:36.120 --> 00:14:39.200 he had very poor dexterity, the kind of fine motor 214 00:14:39.240 --> 00:14:41.200 issues that would have made it difficult for him to 215 00:14:41.240 --> 00:14:44.840 manipulate the clasp of a dog leash. Not only that, 216 00:14:44.919 --> 00:14:47.240 but the leeha had been looked over the beam with 217 00:14:47.279 --> 00:14:50.840 an equal length on either side, a level of position 218 00:14:50.960 --> 00:14:55.600 that didn't match Connor's known abilities. Lisa had told detectives 219 00:14:55.639 --> 00:14:58.960 that Connor was depressed, that he was bullied, that he 220 00:14:59.000 --> 00:15:01.240 didn't want to live any more, and that he didn't 221 00:15:01.279 --> 00:15:04.360 want to die alone. She had even sent out a 222 00:15:04.360 --> 00:15:07.879 group text to her family before the incident, asking them 223 00:15:07.960 --> 00:15:11.799 to show Connor love. But when detectives reached out to 224 00:15:11.840 --> 00:15:16.080 those same family members, they heard something very different. Owen, 225 00:15:16.200 --> 00:15:18.840 Connor's older brother said he had never seen any signs 226 00:15:18.919 --> 00:15:23.039 that his brother was depressed. He didn't remember Connor complaining 227 00:15:23.080 --> 00:15:28.840 about bullying. Their cousin, Kimberly Watson said the same. In fact, 228 00:15:28.840 --> 00:15:32.559 when she received Lisa's text message, she was concerned enough 229 00:15:32.600 --> 00:15:36.519 to go and pick Connor up from school herself. She recollected, 230 00:15:37.559 --> 00:15:39.720 I said, are you happy I picked you up? And 231 00:15:39.799 --> 00:15:42.200 he said yeah, but I do like riding the bus. 232 00:15:42.320 --> 00:15:45.519 I have a lot of friends. On the bus to Kimberlin, 233 00:15:45.960 --> 00:15:49.120 Connor hadn't seemed to upset at all. He hadn't mentioned 234 00:15:49.159 --> 00:15:53.279 being bullied, He didn't make any dark comments. He was 235 00:15:53.399 --> 00:15:57.639 just his usual self, chatty, cheerful, and full of energy. 236 00:15:57.799 --> 00:16:01.240 The school had also reported no signs of trouble. Connor 237 00:16:01.279 --> 00:16:04.840 had friends and he was engaged. His teachers described him 238 00:16:04.919 --> 00:16:07.679 as happy and friendly and noted if there were any 239 00:16:07.679 --> 00:16:12.000 concerns about depression or suicidal thoughts, they hadn't seen them. 240 00:16:12.360 --> 00:16:16.000 There was something else that stood out to detectives. Lisa 241 00:16:16.039 --> 00:16:18.639 claimed that Connor and Brindley often played in the basement, 242 00:16:19.639 --> 00:16:22.120 but when they spoke with Owen, he said they didn't. 243 00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:25.480 The basement, he said, just wasn't a place where the 244 00:16:25.559 --> 00:16:29.399 children spent any time. None of this added up to 245 00:16:29.440 --> 00:16:33.159 a suicide, at least not the kind that Lisa was describing. 246 00:16:34.440 --> 00:16:37.120 Detectives were beginning to look at Lisa with fresh eyes, 247 00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:41.320 and as they turned their focus towards her, her behavior, 248 00:16:41.480 --> 00:16:46.320 her history, her digital footprint, what they found was deeply unsettling. 249 00:16:55.440 --> 00:16:59.399 The investigation was picking up momentum while Lisa Snyder continued 250 00:16:59.399 --> 00:17:03.080 to present herself as a grieving mother, posting sad messages 251 00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:06.359 on Facebook and changing her profile photo to anti billying 252 00:17:06.440 --> 00:17:10.960 Slogan's detectives were beginning to unravel a much darker history. 253 00:17:12.200 --> 00:17:14.240 At the time of their deaths, both Connor and his 254 00:17:14.279 --> 00:17:18.400 older brother Owen were already known to Child Protective Services. 255 00:17:19.599 --> 00:17:21.559 This wasn't the first time that there had been serious 256 00:17:21.640 --> 00:17:24.839 concerns about Lisa Snyder's ability to care for her children. 257 00:17:25.799 --> 00:17:29.759 In fact, it wasn't even close. Back in twenty and fourteen, 258 00:17:29.799 --> 00:17:33.039 when Connor was just two years old, both boys were 259 00:17:33.039 --> 00:17:38.880 removed from Lisa's custody. Lisa had confessed to harboring violent thoughts. 260 00:17:39.880 --> 00:17:42.480 She told detectives that she had placed cords and bottle 261 00:17:42.519 --> 00:17:46.519 caps in Connor's crib, things a toddler could easily choke on, 262 00:17:47.240 --> 00:17:50.279 and that it was no accident. She admitted that she 263 00:17:50.319 --> 00:17:53.160 hoped her two year old son wouldn't survive the night. 264 00:17:54.319 --> 00:17:58.039 But the disturbing thoughts went back even further. When Owen 265 00:17:58.119 --> 00:17:59.960 was still a baby, Lisa had spoken to her car 266 00:18:00.759 --> 00:18:03.640 Jessica Widlick, about something that chilled her to the core. 267 00:18:04.720 --> 00:18:08.079 Lisa felt abandoned by Owen's father and told Jessica that 268 00:18:08.160 --> 00:18:10.720 if she ever decided to end her life. She would 269 00:18:10.720 --> 00:18:13.599 take Owen with her. She said she would put him 270 00:18:13.599 --> 00:18:17.160 in a car and drive straight into a lake. Despite 271 00:18:17.160 --> 00:18:20.319 these deeply troubling confessions, after six months in a mental 272 00:18:20.359 --> 00:18:24.920 health facility, Lisa was granted Costaday again. The boys came 273 00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:28.519 back home and the next year Brindley was born. Not 274 00:18:28.759 --> 00:18:31.960 years later, one of those boys was dead, so was 275 00:18:31.960 --> 00:18:35.599 his little sister, and suspicion was growing that Lisa had 276 00:18:35.640 --> 00:18:40.319 finally acted on those dark thoughts. Detectives served to search 277 00:18:40.400 --> 00:18:44.079 warrant at the family's home. They removed several boxes of 278 00:18:44.119 --> 00:18:47.279 evidence from inside, including the dog lash the children had 279 00:18:47.279 --> 00:18:49.960 been found hanging from, and the two chairs that had 280 00:18:49.960 --> 00:18:53.319 been knocked over nearby. But they weren't just looking at 281 00:18:53.400 --> 00:18:58.880 physical evidence. They were also focused on digital clues. Lisa 282 00:18:58.920 --> 00:19:02.119 had claimed that Connor was bing bullied on mine. If 283 00:19:02.119 --> 00:19:06.119 that was true, they needed to see those messages. Investigators 284 00:19:06.119 --> 00:19:10.599 collected two iPads, a laptop, and an xbox. If there 285 00:19:10.640 --> 00:19:13.240 was any sign he was planning something, if he had 286 00:19:13.240 --> 00:19:17.799 confided in somebody they wanted to know. Lisa also handed 287 00:19:17.799 --> 00:19:21.319 over her cell phone, but soon detectives discovered something she 288 00:19:21.359 --> 00:19:25.480 hadn't told them. Lisa had a second phone. Her seventeen 289 00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:29.440 year old son, Owen told detectives about it, she hadn't 290 00:19:29.440 --> 00:19:34.119 turned it over during the investigation. That alone raised red flags. 291 00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:38.079 The black Huskie pit bull that the family owned, the 292 00:19:38.119 --> 00:19:41.200 dog whose leash was used in the hangings, it's no 293 00:19:41.279 --> 00:19:45.960 longer in the home. Lisa had given him away. 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It would have been Connor's 321 00:21:39.920 --> 00:21:43.839 ninth birthday, but instead of a party, it was a memorial. 322 00:21:45.319 --> 00:21:48.319 Sixty people formed a semicircle in the open field behind 323 00:21:48.319 --> 00:21:53.440 the center, clutching bright helium balloons on a table stood 324 00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:57.440 framed photographs of Connor and Brinley smiling at a swimming pool, 325 00:21:57.640 --> 00:22:02.160 running through a playground posing in their pictures. There was 326 00:22:02.200 --> 00:22:06.400 also artwork, one of Connor's paintings, a colorful bouquet of 327 00:22:06.400 --> 00:22:09.759 flowers in a vase. On either side of the painting 328 00:22:09.799 --> 00:22:12.880 were two certificates confirming what the children had done in 329 00:22:12.960 --> 00:22:18.880 death donated their organs. The certificate read through the combassionate 330 00:22:18.920 --> 00:22:22.279 decision to help others through organ tissue or cornya donation 331 00:22:22.920 --> 00:22:25.440 Connor and Brindley who provided hope to the men, women 332 00:22:25.519 --> 00:22:28.079 and children who are in need of a life saving 333 00:22:28.519 --> 00:22:32.960 or life enhancing transplant. When the balloons were relayed, somebody 334 00:22:32.960 --> 00:22:36.599 called out catch them, Connor as the sky filled with color. 335 00:22:37.759 --> 00:22:42.640 Then quietly and mournfully, the group sang Happy Birthday. Connor 336 00:22:42.640 --> 00:22:45.519 and Brindley's older brother, Owen was there, but Lisa wasn't. 337 00:22:46.480 --> 00:22:49.119 Though she had steed away from the public vigil, she 338 00:22:49.240 --> 00:22:53.519 was present online. On Facebook, she posted frequently about her grief. 339 00:22:54.920 --> 00:22:57.640 One post read, every day it gets harder. I miss 340 00:22:57.680 --> 00:22:59.880 you both so much. I just want to hold you, 341 00:23:00.119 --> 00:23:03.160 kiss you. All I do is cry. I love you 342 00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:05.599 both with all my heart. I just want you back. 343 00:23:06.559 --> 00:23:09.720 But in private detectives were beginning to believe that Lisa 344 00:23:09.799 --> 00:23:13.559 wasn't being honest, and for District Attorney John Adams, the 345 00:23:13.640 --> 00:23:16.119 idea that an eight year old boy could orchestrate a 346 00:23:16.200 --> 00:23:21.200 murder suicide was difficult to swallow. He stated, eight year olds, 347 00:23:21.240 --> 00:23:24.799 generally that I am aware of, don't commit suicide. So 348 00:23:24.920 --> 00:23:28.559 of course we had questions. What happened in that basement 349 00:23:28.640 --> 00:23:32.759 was still almost impossible to comprehend. People in Camden couldn't 350 00:23:32.759 --> 00:23:36.680 stop talking about it. At the local bar, longtime bartender 351 00:23:36.880 --> 00:23:41.039 Carolyn Folk said, it's such a horrible tragedy. It was 352 00:23:41.079 --> 00:23:47.559 so shocking. Hailey Dunkelberger, a freshman nearby Kutztown University, echoed 353 00:23:47.559 --> 00:23:51.839 the unease spreading throughout the town. People are upset. I 354 00:23:51.880 --> 00:23:53.880 don't really think everyone knows how to cope with this. 355 00:23:54.599 --> 00:23:59.079 This is a small community. For whatever happens, I want justice, 356 00:24:00.200 --> 00:24:11.920 and soon justice would come. On the second of December 357 00:24:11.960 --> 00:24:16.559 twenty nineteen, Lisa Snyder was arrested. She was charged with 358 00:24:16.559 --> 00:24:19.319 two counts of first and third degree murder, as well 359 00:24:19.359 --> 00:24:22.200 as two felony counts of endangering the welfare of children. 360 00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:25.160 For many in the community of Camden, the arrest didn't 361 00:24:25.160 --> 00:24:29.000 come as a surprise. Whispers had started almost as soon 362 00:24:29.039 --> 00:24:32.960 as the news had broken. Pop wore suspicious of Lisa's story, 363 00:24:33.440 --> 00:24:36.640 and now investigators were confirming what so many had feared. 364 00:24:37.519 --> 00:24:41.400 There was no evidence that Connor had been bullied. Detectives 365 00:24:41.440 --> 00:24:45.400 had gone through everything his Skilled records, online accounts, even 366 00:24:45.440 --> 00:24:50.359 his Xbox. They spoke with teachers and classmates. Everybody said 367 00:24:50.359 --> 00:24:53.119 the same thing. Connor was a well liked boy. He 368 00:24:53.240 --> 00:24:57.440 had friends, He was kind, He wasn't isolated or depressed. 369 00:24:58.559 --> 00:25:00.240 Lisa had claimed he came home from s S Girl 370 00:25:00.319 --> 00:25:04.359 that day feeling down, But when detectives reviewed surveillance footage 371 00:25:04.359 --> 00:25:09.240 from the Skill bus, they saw something different. Connor appeared happy, playful, 372 00:25:09.279 --> 00:25:12.839 even he was rough housing with another boy, the very 373 00:25:12.880 --> 00:25:16.680 boy Lisa had accused of bullying him. The pieces weren't 374 00:25:16.680 --> 00:25:21.039 adding up, and then came something even more disturbing. In 375 00:25:21.039 --> 00:25:24.160 the days leading up to the children's deaths, Lisa had 376 00:25:24.200 --> 00:25:29.240 been searching the Internet. She searched for carbon monoxide in 377 00:25:29.279 --> 00:25:31.839 a car? How Long to Die? I almost got away 378 00:25:31.839 --> 00:25:35.880 with the best episodes hanging Yourself? Does a hybrid car 379 00:25:35.920 --> 00:25:40.559 produce carbon monoxide while idling? She even visited an instructional 380 00:25:40.599 --> 00:25:43.440 website that explained how to carry out a hanging using 381 00:25:43.480 --> 00:25:47.039 a short drop. This was the same hanging method used 382 00:25:47.039 --> 00:25:49.599 to kill Connor and Brinley, and on the very same 383 00:25:49.680 --> 00:25:52.920 day that Connor and Brindley died, Lisa had purchased the 384 00:25:52.960 --> 00:25:55.799 dog leash that would later be used in their deaths. 385 00:25:56.599 --> 00:25:59.039 It had a weight limit of two hundred and fifty pounds, 386 00:25:59.720 --> 00:26:02.480 far beyond what their fifty pound dog would have required. 387 00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:08.000 But the investigation didn't stop there. When detectives looked deeper 388 00:26:08.039 --> 00:26:14.279 into Lisa's digital footprint, they discovered something truly depraved. In 389 00:26:14.319 --> 00:26:19.240 her Facebook messenger history, Lisa had been sending sexually explicit messages. 390 00:26:20.599 --> 00:26:23.640 She had engaged in sex acts with the family dog, 391 00:26:24.279 --> 00:26:27.640 and had taken photographs and sent those images to another person. 392 00:26:28.839 --> 00:26:33.519 Lisa Snyder was now facing additional charges felony, animal abuse 393 00:26:33.720 --> 00:26:39.920 and related defenses. Investigators also interviewed Lisa's cousin, who painted 394 00:26:39.920 --> 00:26:43.799 a grim picture of Lisa's mental state. She said that 395 00:26:43.839 --> 00:26:46.680 Lisa had become depressed and that she was unable to 396 00:26:46.720 --> 00:26:49.920 get out of bed, and, most alarmingly, she said that 397 00:26:49.960 --> 00:26:52.559 Lisa told her she didn't care about her kids anymore. 398 00:26:53.559 --> 00:26:57.000 To her the children had become a burden. Lisa had 399 00:26:57.000 --> 00:26:59.799 also made a disturbing remark to a friend named Jessicas 400 00:26:59.799 --> 00:27:04.079 sion Empft. She told Jessica that if she were ever arrested, 401 00:27:04.599 --> 00:27:07.160