Siblings, 4 and 8, found hanged, authorities say
Search warrant seeks X-Box, electronics, one-time family dog
Two young siblings who died last month were found hanged in the basement of their Albany Township home and state police in Berks County are looking for clues within a gaming console and other electronics, according to search warrants filed in the case.
Investigators also hope to find and examine a dog the children’s mother reported she used to own, court records say.
Connor Snyder, 8, and Brinley L. Snyder, 4, were pronounced dead at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest on Sept. 26, three days after paramedics were called to their family’s home in the 2400 block of Route 143, near Kempton.
Search warrants say that an adult female resident of the home found them unresponsive in the basement of the home, near two overturned chairs. The children had a plastic coated wire cable around their necks that was suspended from a support beam in the basement, court records show.
Autopsy results are pending, and no charges have been filed.
Search warrants filed in district court in Hamburg show that investigators want to analyze an X-Box console that Connor Snyder played with.
“The eight-year-old victim is known to play video games and view various internet websites utilizing the X-Box gaming console,” the warrant states.
Investigators have also asked to analyze a cellphone, two iPads and a laptop computer from the house, the search warrants show.
One of the warrants asks specifically for a dog that purportedly lived at the home. The children’s mother described the dog as a husky-pit bull mix that
weighed about 50 pounds. A detective wrote in the warrant that he wants to weigh the dog.
“Determining the dog’s actual weight and size utilizing a scale will assist in the criminal investigation,” the warrant states.
The detective noted in the warrant that the dog has not been examined by police.
“Dog given away,” the report says.
Berks County District Attorney John Adams would not say specifically what detectives are looking for but said Monday investigators are looking at all types of information to try to determine exactly what happened. He said it remains an ongoing investigation.
“Whenever we are dealing with the unnatural death of a child, it is very emotionally troubling to all of us,” Adams said. “I believe to have two children perish in the same incident really compounds our concerns and we are looking forward to having some answers. But we need to take our time to determine exactly what happened.”
Adams would not comment further. Last week, a spokesperson from the state Department of Human Services confirmed that “assessment and ongoing case management services were provided to Connor and Brinley Snyder through Berks County Children and Youth Services.”
The department did not elaborate on what services. Authorities at Berks County Children and Youth Services did not return a phone message.
Family members of the children could not be reached for comment.
Adams asked anyone with information to call the district attorney’s office at 610-478-6000 or the state police Hamburg barracks at 610-562-6885.