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DA to seek death penalty for alleged homicide, child abuse

Echo Butler, 26, leaves her preliminary hearing this morning for new charges of criminal homicide according to Lycoming County District Attorney Ryan Gardner. Photo by Dave Kennedy/Sun-Gazette

The “worst that they have ever seen” is how Lycoming County District Attorney Ryan Gardner and law enforcement officials described the abuse sisters Nicole and Jasmine Snyder were subjected to before their deaths.

“The conditions, unfortunately, these two beautiful little girls were subjected to prior to their deaths, is some of the worst [abuse] that I have ever seen by far,” Gardner said. “In speaking with law enforcement, hands down, it is the worst that they have seen as well in their storied 30-plus year careers.”

Prosecutors have announced they will pursue the death penalty against Marie Snyder, 32, and Echo Butler, 26, as the two have been arraigned on new charges of criminal homicide, among others.

Michele Butler, 49, Echo’s mother, also faces additional charges of third-degree murder in relation to deaths of Snyder’s children, Nicole Snyder and Jasmine Snyder, in 2016 and 2017.

Synder and Butler allegedly abused the children for years leading up to their deaths, after which Echo Butler buried them in the backyard of 653 Livermore Road, according to Old Lycoming Township Detective Robert Mausteller and county Detective Stephen Sorage.

That alleged abuse included starvation and physical abuse that was directed at the two girls, but not Snyder’s third child. Marie Snyder allegedly said the abuse occurred at the Livermore Road residence daily, according to Mausteller and Sorage.

Marie Snyder allegedly told police Echo Butler did not want the Snyder girls at the residence, and that Butler physically abused them.

Echo Butler allegedly said she hated the children “because the girls were bad,” according to Mausteller and Sorage.

Investigators discovered Snyder allegedly wrote letters about her emotions that alluded to the treatment of her children.

In December of 2015, Snyder allegedly wrote to Echo Butler, saying, “I’m sorry about these [expletive]. If you want them gone they are gone.”

Later, Snyder allegedly lamented she was sick of the girls not listening and that she wished she only had her son.

Nicole and Jasmine Snyder were allegedly punished for no reason, according to Marie Snyder and Michele Butler. They allegedly said the girls acted and behaved like normal children, and that they were not bad children as claimed by Echo Butler, according to Mausteller and Sorage.

Snyder and both Butlers allegedly starved the daughters on purpose and only permitted them to have small amounts of water whereas the rest of the family, including their sibling, ate pizza and ice cream, by their admission and according to an unnamed witness from the affidavit written by Mausteller and Sorage.

Snyder allegedly admitted to also giving the girls cold baths, because according to Echo Butler, the two did not deserve hot water.

According to Michele Butler, both girls were allegedly forced to stand in corners for hours at a time and would be physically restrained for hours at a time as well, Mausteller and Sorage said.

In the days prior to Nicole Snyder’s death, the girl was pale, unable to stand on her own and her hair was falling out, according to Michele Butler and Marie Snyder.

All three women allegedly watched the girl take her last breath on or around May 10, 2016, Michele Butler allegedly said.

Michele Butler also allegedly said the three agreed to tell other family that Nicole Snyder went to live with Marie Snyder’s father, while they would tell those outside the family the girls went to live with an out-of-state friend.

After the death of Nicole, on Aug. 26, 2016, Marie Snyder allegedly wrote another letter to Echo Butler:

“I started to correct them and it went very wrong. I lost one of my babies.”

The alleged abuse of Jasmine Snyder only continued to increase in severity after the death of Nicole Snyder, Mausteller and Sorage said.

Marie Snyder allegedly said they restrained Jasmine Snyder in a car seat and crossed her legs as further punishment, and allegedly said Echo Butler was the last to see Jasmine before her death.

Jasmine Snyder died on or around Aug. 11, 2017. She allegedly showed similar signs of starvation as Nicole, but unlike Nicole, nobody observed her last breath, according to Mausteller and Sorage.

According to Marie Snyder, the three disposed of Nicole and Jasmine Snyder’s items to conceal what occurred, and buried Jasmine next to Nicole.

Investigators alleged that for four to five years after their deaths, Marie Snyder continued to receive benefits from the Lycoming County Assistance Office exceeding $2,000. Additionally, she allegedly received child support from the county domestic relations office after the two died.

District Judge William Solomon denied bail to all three as required by law.

Solomon arraigned Marie Snyder for four counts of criminal homicide, two counts of endangering the welfare of children, two counts of unlawful restraint, two counts of theft by deception, two counts of concealing the death of a child, two counts of simple assault, two counts of recklessly endangering another person, two counts of abuse of a corpse, one count of obstruction in child abuse cases and one count of tampering with evidence.

Solomon also arraigned Michele Butler for one count of murder of the third degree, two counts of endangering the welfare of children, one count of obstruction of child abuse cases, two counts of abuse of a corpse, two counts of concealing the death of a child and two counts of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.

If convicted of all charges, Michele Butler could face up to 58 years in prison.

Finally, Solomon arraigned Echo Butler for four counts of criminal homicide, two counts of endangering the welfare of children, two counts of unlawful restraint, two counts of concealing the death of a child, two counts of simple assault, two counts of recklessly endangering another person, two counts of abuse of a corpse, one count of obstruction of child abuse cases and two counts of tampering with evidence.

Solomon is continuing a preliminary hearing that was scheduled Jan. 19 into the middle of February.

Children and Youth Services took Snyder’s third child, a son who is alive and healthy, into custody for care, according to previous news releases.

Nicole and Jasmine Snyder would have been 11 and 8, respectively.

Police initially charged Snyder and Echo Butler with obstruction of an investigation into child abuse and endangering the welfare children on Nov. 6, and Michele Butler with endangering the welfare of children and obstructing a child abuse investigation shortly after.

CYS allegedly tried to contact Snyder to determine the whereabouts of her two daughters for two months after a medical provider reported concerns of neglect for the boy in early September, according to Robert Mausteller of the Old Lycoming Township Police.

The girls were allegedly last seen by their father, Joshua Snyder, in 2015, and the last time they had contact with medical, court or other personnel was that year as well.

Another resident at 653 Livermore Road later allegedly told police that while Snyder’s son has lived at that address since 2015, the two daughters had been living at an unknown friend’s residence out of state, according to Mausteller.

Meanwhile, neighbors allegedly told Old Lycoming Township police officers that while they had seen Snyder’s son, they had not seen her daughters, Mausteller said.

Snyder allegedly told CYS that her two daughters were staying with a friend because she did not have a bed, and refused to provide the friend’s name on multiple occasions throughout September, according to Mausteller.

The last such occasion allegedly occurred Sept. 25, when CYS spoke with Echo Butler at the Livermore Road residence, and to Snyder on the phone. The next day, property owner Ronald Butler allegedly told CYS that Snyder, her son and Echo Butler packed their belongings and left the night before.

Snyder and Echo Butler were taken into custody by a joint United States Marshals Service and Lycoming County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Task Force on an Old Lycoming Township Police arrest warrant.

Solomon arraigned the two women after they were arrested Nov. 4.

Echo Butler also allegedly admitted she concealed the locations of all three of Snyder’s children, and admitted to knowledge surrounding the deaths of Snyder’s two daughters in an affidavit that was unsealed Monday afternoon.

Additionally, police allege Echo Butler claimed she did not know the daughters’ location, before later admitting she “knew the truth regarding their circumstances.”

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