Adacelli Snyder

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adacelli was a victim of neglect and malnutrition, she was born with cerebral palsy and weighed only 11 pounds at the time of her death. She was found dead inside her family’s filthy mobile home in a room filled with animal and human feces and rotting food. There was broken glass on the floor and spider webs everywhere in the house. Adacelli was covered with lice and nits, and her face was covered with bites and insect eggs. Adacelli’s eye was discolored, her abdomen was bruised, open sores dotted her buttocks and thighs, and dried fecal matter and urine covered her lower body. Adacelli's mother said that she didn’t know how to take care of a special needs child.

 

Snyder and Richardson were arrested by undercover officers on their way to family court for a hearing for their three surviving children. It took Adacelli’s death before the other children were removed from the home even though there were years of documented abuse and neglect. Child Protective Services monitored Snyder and Richardson from 2003 to 2004. CPS says that the family was visited by a social worker for a year, but had made major improvements, so the visits stopped. CPS supposedly didn’t receive any calls about the family despite the fact that neighbors said that the home smelled foul and the children were never seen playing outside. Snyder’s three surviving children were adopted by their grandmother and now live out of state.

 

Charlene Snyder was sentenced at the Regional Justice Center. The judge handed out a sentence that matches those descriptions.  Charlene Snyder, the mother herself offered the following, "I didn't know how to take care of a special needs child. I'm sorry, that's all I can say. Please give me mercy." But the judge gave no leniency. Judge David Wall said, "I'm going to sentence you to life in prison with a possibility of parole after 10 years has been served." Snyder’s boyfriend, Jack Richardson also faced charges of murder and neglect.