The two young children who were pushed from a Pennsylvania parking garage by their father died of multiple blunt-force injuries, officials said Wednesday. Their deaths were ruled homicides.
First responders pronounced 8-year-old James Lynch dead at 4:35 p.m. Tuesday, about 20 minutes after he was found with his 6-year-old sister, Caroline Lynch, and their father, Patrick Lynch, at the base of the parking garage in the affluent Pittsburgh suburb of Mt. Lebanon, police and the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said.
Caroline was pronounced dead one minute after her brother, according to the medical examiner’s office, as reported by TribLive.
“Preliminary information suggests that this incident is a murder-suicide,” the county police department said Tuesday.
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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.
