CINCINNATI — Over seven years after 8-year-old Adam Snyder died at the hands of his adopted parents, John and Katherine Snyder are headed to prison.
Judge Wende Cross read the parents' sentences in court on Thursday. John was sentenced to 29 years to life behind bars, while Katherine was sentenced to spend 31 years to life in prison.
The couple faced a total of 26 charges and were found guilty by a jury of charges of murder, felonious assault and endangering children. During their trial, prosecutors said the Snyders abused all of their children, who were malnourished and deprived of medical care.
Court documents said Adam wasn't fed throughout the period between September 1 and October 5 in 2016; he was pronounced dead on October 5. The coroner ruled his death as a homicide, citing it was caused by blunt force trauma to his head. At the time, the Snyders weren't initially arrested, but they did lose custody of their other children, whom prosecutors said were "skin and bones."
Prosecutors said Adam weighed just 36 pounds when he died — half the average weight for an 8-year-old.
Five of the Snyders' six children were adopted from China, including Adam.
"This poor kid comes from China from an orphanage to this family and what do they do? They kill him," said prosecuting attorney Stacy Lefton at the start of the trial.
Prosecutors said the Snyders' took Adam to Cincinnati Children's Hospital the day before he died, on Oct. 4, 2016.
"He's described as skin and bones and gray in color," Lefton said. "They were concerned for his health."
The parents took the boy home and promised to bring him back the next day; when they did, he was pronounced dead. The prosecution said leading up to Adam's death, the child had soiled himself on the morning of Oct. 5.
"And the routine punishment in the Snyder home for soiling yourself was to place these children in cold showers and baths and smear feces on them," Lefton said.
The prosecution said Katherine then slammed Adam on the ground before taking him to and laying him on the floor of John's office. John then checked on an unresponsive Adam before Katherine eventually called 911, the prosecution said.
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