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HomeUSCoroner Confirms Harrowing Details After Dad Threw Two Kids

Coroner Confirms Harrowing Details After Dad Threw Two Kids

Two young siblings who were thrown from a Pennsylvania parking garage by their father died from multiple blunt-force injuries, officials said Wednesday. Their deaths have been classified as homicides.

A 2021 photo shows Patrick Lynch with Anna DeMase Lynch and their children, Caroline Lynch, left, and James Lynch. Facebook/Patrick Lynch

First responders pronounced 8-year-old James Lynch dead at 4:35 p.m. Tuesday, about 20 minutes after he was found at the base of the parking garage in the affluent Pittsburgh suburb of Mt. Lebanon. His 6-year-old sister, Caroline Lynch, and their father, Patrick Lynch, were also found at the scene, according to police and the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office.

The medical examiner’s office told TribLive that Caroline was pronounced dead one minute after her brother.

“Preliminary information suggests that this incident is a murder-suicide,” the county police department said Tuesday.

The three deaths are not believed to have been accidental, police said.
Police said the three deaths are not believed to have been accidental. KDKA

Authorities had not disclosed what prompted the 42-year-old father to kill his children and himself. Mt. Lebanon Police Chief Jason Haberman told reporters at the scene that investigators were treating the case “not as an accident.”

If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.

If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.