Ohio Parents Accused of Abusing and Murdering Child Face Trial on Multiple Charges

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John and Katherine Snyder, parents accused of abusing and murdering their 8-year-old child, Adam, are now on trial in Springfield Township, Ohio. The couple is facing a total of 26 charges, including murder, aggravated assault, and child endangerment. The Snyders were arrested in upstate New York in September 2022.

According to the prosecution, all of the Snyder children, several of whom were adopted from China, were subjected to abuse and neglect. Court documents reveal that Adam was allegedly not fed for over a month in 2016. Prosecuting attorney Stacy Lefton described the condition of Adam when he was taken to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital on October 4, 2016, as “skin and bones and gray in color.”

Adam was pronounced dead in the hospital on October 5, 2016, and the coroner ruled his death as a homicide due to blunt force trauma to the back of his head. The prosecution claims that the Snyders routinely punished their children by placing them in cold showers and baths and smearing feces on them.

During the trial, Katherine’s defense attorney, Jeremy Evans, argued that Adam died of natural causes resulting from diagnosed and undiagnosed medical and neuropsychiatric issues. Evans claimed that the physicians failed to pay attention to the signs exhibited by Adam, such as refusing to eat or dress himself and smearing feces regularly.

The trial is set to continue on Monday morning at the Hamilton County Courthouse. The other Snyder children, who were young and had limited English proficiency at the time of Adam’s death, are now capable of testifying in court, according to the prosecution. Dr. Mary Staat, an infectious disease specialist at Cincinnati Children’s, testified as a witness for the prosecution, highlighting Adam’s physical abnormalities and the Snyders’ refusal of a full evaluation.