[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
A mother in rural Pennsylvania has admitted in court that she tortured, intentionally starved, and killed her two young daughters.
Marie Snyder, 32, testified in court on Wednesday that she and her girlfriend, 26-year-old Echo Butler, intentionally withheld food from Marie’s daughters, Nicole Snyder and Jasmine Snyder, over a long period prior to their deaths. We previously reported on this case in November of last year, after officials in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania initially arrested Snyder when the girls, who had been unaccounted for since 2015, were found buried in a backyard of a home in the area.
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Snyder, who was charged with first-degree murder after the discovery of the girls’ bodies, has been opening up about the horrific situation during her testimony for the prosecution in the ongoing court case. According to the Harrisburg Patriot News, District Attorney Ryan C. Gardner reportedly convinced Snyder to finally “do something right for her daughters” and come clean about the awful ordeal they suffered through.
In her testimony, Snyder revealed that Nicole died in May of 2016 when she was just 6 years old after she and Butler withheld food and water from the girl for a two-week period. Per NorthCentralPA.com, the mother further explained that both girls underwent physical torture and attacks repeatedly:
“They were being starved and beaten every day. Echo would grab their throats so they couldn’t breathe, and choke them until their eyes would roll back into their heads.”
OMG…
At one point, Marie says, she had an attack of conscience and tried to call the police. After dialing 9-1-1, Echo and her mother, Michele Butler, allegedly ordered Marie to hang up the phone — then demanded that she tell the dispatcher the call had been a mistake when they called back to check. Snyder also testified that Echo had ordered her to tell people that the girls had gone to live with their father when asked, in order to conceal their fate.
After Nicole died in May of that year, Snyder testified that Echo dug a shallow grave in the couple’s backyard. They then buried the girl, and “added mothballs to cover up the odor,” per the news outlet. Jasmine was “initially treated well” following Nicole’s death, but a little over a year later, they starved her to death, too. Snyder testified that Jasmine died in August of 2017, when she was 4 years old, and apparently weighed only five pounds at the time of her passing with “her bones visible.” After Jasmine’s passing, the couple buried the girl next to her sister.
Just heartbreaking…
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Echo is now also facing charges of first-degree murder, and is the focal point of the authorities’ investigation after convincing Snyder to testify for the prosecution. The District Attorney’s Office in Lycoming County has since charged Echo’s parents, Michele and Ronald Butler, as well. Michele is facing charges of third-degree murder, while Ronald has been charged with two counts of endangering a child and obstruction of investigation into child abuse.
Such an awful, sick situation. Our hearts go out to those poor girls after everything they went through…
[Image via PAHomepage.com/YouTube/Lycoming County Prison]
The post A 4-Year-Old Weighed Just 5 Lbs?! Mom Admits She Tortured & Starved Daughters, Then Buried Them In Backyard appeared first on Perez Hilton.
