Parents Who Sued Coroner to Change Manner of Death Convicted of Murdering 8-Year-Old Son

Two Ohio parents convicted of murdering their 8-year-old son have been sentenced to decades in prison.

John and Katherine Snyder, both 52 — who unsuccessfully sued the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office to change Adam Snyder’s manner of death from homicide — must register on the state’s violent offender registry and spend the rest of their lives on probation, Law & Crime reported.

Both of the Snyders were found guilty of murder, endangering children, and felonious assault. Katherine Snyder was found guilty of two additional charges of endangering children.

John Snyder was sentenced to 29 years to life, while his wife will spend 31 years to life in prison.

Adam Snyder died of blunt force trauma to the head on September 1, 2016, as CrimeOnline reported, but the Snyders were not arrested until last year. They had by that time moved to Plattsburgh, New York.

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The Hamilton County Department of Jobs and Family Services filed for permanent custody of the Snyders’ five surviving children — four adopted and one biological — in 2017. A victim advocate spoke on behalf of the children on Thursday during the sentencing hearing.

“I heard the defense counsel mention earlier the innocence of their clients, well, I’m asking you to consider the innocence of my clients who are the surviving victims of their brother being murdered,” the advocate said, according to WXIX.

The other children were found malnourished and suffering from signs of physical abuse, prosecutors said.

The Snyders declined to speak at the hearing, but Judge Wende Cross addressed them directly before handing down the sentence.

“It was you that failed to meet these six children’s basic physical and emotional needs. As parents, you were their most important role models.” she said.