Lisa Rachelle Snyder, 36 has been charged over the murders of her two youngest children, who were found hanged in their basement. Video / NBC
WARNING: Distressing
The damning Google history of a woman accused of murdering her two children has been revealed after they were found hanging in her basement.
Lisa Rachelle Snyder was charged on Monday with first-degree murder, third-degree murder, tampering with evidence and endangering the welfare of children in the US state of Pennsylvania, reports News.com.au.
Lisa Rachelle Snyder, 36 has been charged over the murders of her two youngest children, who were found hanged in their basement. Photo / Facebook
In a sick twist, Ms Snyder was also charged with animal cruelty and having sexual intercourse with her dog. Evidence, including pictures, was found in her email during the course of the investigation, according to prosecutors. Police indicate the images were taken before the murders. Ms Snyder is being held without bail in Berks County Jail.
The charges come after Ms Snyder reported two of her children dead on September 23, saying she found them hanging from a basement support beam next to chairs that had been tipped over.
According to court documents, Ms Snyder used Google to search for information related to suicide and murder in the days leading up to her children's deaths.
On September 17 she typed "carbon monoxide in a car how long to die" into the search bar, court records allege. She also looked up "almost got away with it" and "I almost got away with it best episodes".
On the day the children were found unresponsive, Ms Snyder had searched "does a hybrid car produce carbon monoxide" and "does a hybrid car produce carbon monoxide while idling".
During her call to authorities to report the deaths of her children, Ms Snyder suggested her eight-year-old son Conner had carried out a murder-suicide, killing his four-year-old sister Brinley before taking his own life.
Berks County District lawyer John Adams described the incident as "horrific".
"Eight-year-olds, generally, that I am aware of, do not commit suicide. So, of course we had questions," Mr Adams said in a press conference on Monday, US time.
"I don't know there is any explanation for her behaviour at all. I don't think I can stand up here, nor anyone, and explain the horrific loss of two innocent children's lives.
"I think it goes without explanation."
In audio obtained by The Morning Call newspaper, of Allentown, a dispatcher alerts police to Ms Snyder's emergency phone call.
"She mentioned that the eight-year-old has been bullied and has made threats of doing this but didn't want to go alone … At this time, it should just be the mother and the two children on scene," the dispatcher says.
Ms Snyder didn't return to the basement after calling authorities, prosecutors allege.
"I would agree that we all may think that a mother of children who are found hanging would make every effort possible to save them," Mr Adams said.
Lisa Snyder is being held without bail. Photo / AP
According to a search warrant, emergency responders who arrived at the scene first found the two children hanging a metre apart from a "single wired cable with plastic coating and ends containing swivel eye snap hooks" with two wooden chairs knocked over nearby.
They were rushed to hospital but died three days later.
After their deaths, Ms Snyder took to Facebook, updating her profile with a photo and caption that read: "Words scar, rumours destroy, bullies kill."
Several electronic devices were seized from Ms Snyder's home – where her teenage son is also a resident – in Albany Township.
MUM BLAMES SON FOR MURDER OF DAUGHTER
During a police interview, Ms Snyder allegedly told detectives her son was suicidal after he had been bullied over his weight and suggested he killed his sister in a murder-suicide.
"He doesn't say much because he knows that I will call the school," Ms Snyder told investigators. "He is overweight, has a speech delay, he needs the extra help, a little slower to grasp things, kids make fun of him because he's fat. He has lost 25 pounds (11kg) since school has started because he was starving himself."
Ms Snyder also claimed her little boy had told her: "I woulda killed myself already, but I am scared to go myself."
Conner was a third-grade student at Greenwich-Lenhartsville Elementary School. A school spokesperson denied the boy was bullied prior to his death.
"Conner was a beloved member of the Greenwich Elementary School family who enjoyed his peers and teachers," Kutztown Area School District superintendent Christian Temchatin previously said in a statement.
"He is dearly missed and is fondly remembered for the smile he brought to all who knew him."
According to prosecutors, the 10-week investigation found that Conner "appeared to be a happy child" and the only person to claim the child was bullied or depressed was his mother.
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