Mom Speaks After Father Throws Two Young Children From Building Before Jumping To His Death

00:00:02
Speaker 1: Hey there, folks. It is Thursday, November 5th. A tragic story coming to us out of Pennsylvania. A dad and his two young children fall to their deaths. But police say this was not an accident. Welcome to this episode. Yet another episode of Roams where we are highlighting familicide. They say this is not an accident. They don't say somebody else was involved here. They say the dad is responsible for this.

00:00:30
Speaker 2: Yes, they are calling this a double murder suicide. And look, anyone who's been following our feed and have been listening to our episodes know that we have been, unfortunately, talking about familicide. It feels like weekly, certainly more than once a month over the past several months. And this one, though, is exceptionally difficult to process because of how it was done, how publicly It was done. This is just a massive cry for help to do this in such a spectacle. This is a small town, Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania. This is a close-knit community. This family was well-known. To think that he, according to police, threw his children off the top of a roof of a parking garage and then leapt to his own death knowing... that his wife, their mother, would be left behind, that the community would be there to find the aftermath. That is hard to understand.

00:01:43
Speaker 1: And this, you said in such a public way, this was on midterm Tuesday, is when this happened. Robes, we, and you used the word familicide, it rolls off our tongue now. But initially, several months ago, when we started seeing these, like, is there a name for this? What is this referred to as? Familicide, yes, but the other one, they call it family annihilation, in which a member of the family wipes out, it's usually the man, almost exclusively, Robes, I should say, a man takes out his wife, his kids. We have seen this happen with one kid, two kids, three, four, five, six. Robes, we've seen this happen, so it's hard to still get a handle on what we are talking about here but it's a type of crime that rose fits into a category that it seems we need to start studying or paying attention to more or trying to figure out what we can do about it and i worry and wonder if we're having so many of them, that's giving others ideas. It's putting this in other people's heads.

00:02:49
Speaker 2: It's normalizing it. It's desensitizing us, perhaps, to the horror of it.

00:02:55
Speaker 1: Oh, no, I meant the actual people who are perpetuating this, just like we talked about school shooters, right? They see it on TV, someone else getting attention, someone else being immortalized to a certain degree as a school shooter. That gives them that idea. I don't know, what is triggering all this stuff, babe? This is an uptick that is alarming.

00:03:16
Speaker 2: It is alarming, and to think that this happened at 4 p.m. in the afternoon, their bodies were found at 4.15 in the afternoon, and this one stands out, yes, because of its public nature, but also you pointed out a lot of times you see the heads of the household, the men, the husbands, the fathers, taking out their entire family. He spared his wife, and I say spared, and I use that term loosely because I cannot imagine living beyond a tragedy like this. And by the way, we have heard from her. It's also remarkable that she has been able to actually even form a sentence, come up with anything that makes sense, and then post it for us to try and better understand what may have happened. I find that to be remarkable in and of itself. I feel like most of us would be in fetal position, unable to even lift our heads up, let alone put out a post to offer some sort of explanation about what may have happened.

00:04:11
Speaker 1: Is that what it felt like? It almost felt like she was offering a defense of the husband immediately.

00:04:16
Speaker 2: Yes, offering a defense of her husband immediately. Now, we know that this was 42-year-old Patrick Lynch. And the children were eight-year-old James Lynch and six-year-old Carolyn Lynch. And of note, we, and we'll get into her post specifically, but mom, Anna Lynch, said that her husband, and this falls in line with many of the other incidents we've been reporting on, but he lost his job back in August and he had fallen into a state of depression. So she did set up that scenario. And we also learned that little Caroline six years old was suffering from a rare genetic developmental disorder called Williams syndrome. And so we say that because Anna had been a big advocate. She was a co-founder of a grassroots organization, a nonprofit to try and help other parents who were navigating raising children with disabilities. And so this just sounded like this beautiful family. Patrick was a data scientist who worked on AI and machine learning. So look, he was a, an educated man and yes, he had lost his job and hadn't been able to find a new one yet, but it just, that doesn't rise to the level where you would think someone would go to this extreme.

00:05:44
Speaker 1: Robes, none of this. They never make sense. A man who was raising two kids held down a job. He's 42 years old, and all of a sudden, after a few months, he falls into a depression, and this happens? Robes, this doesn't make sense. It doesn't. This has to be in someone. Someone has to be. What's triggered? I mean, you know what, Robes? This is a weird thing to throw out. But with women, their bodies, we talk about postpartum, right? And how women's bodies change and their makeup change and it leads to.

00:06:21
Speaker 2: Our hormones change.

00:06:22
Speaker 1: Leads to psychosis.

00:06:23
Speaker 2: Yes.

00:06:24
Speaker 1: In rare cases, sure. Robes is something when we talk about all these women, this commonality, all these men, the shame, something is triggered in these guys, Robes, that seems it has to go beyond just somebody got mad or they're angry. They decide to kill their kids. Well, do you know what it takes for a man to toss his six-year-old child off a roof? Robes, that is not, let's not even say normal. Babe, something has to be going on with these people that goes beyond just shame or upset or anger or wanting revenge. Robes, that sounds psychotic to me.

00:07:04
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's unthinkable. Because look, it's unthinkable to take your own child's life. You would die protecting them. I think biologically speaking, we are all, we all are wired with that in mind, that you would give your life to protect the life of your children. So it flies in the face of every single instinct you have as a parent. And it's one thing even to think about someone, a father, we've seen this, kill his kids while they're sleeping, his family while they're sleeping with a gun, a quick, but while they're quiet, to think about in the middle of the day when your kids are active. This was the parking garage of the municipal building you mentioned. This is midterm Tuesday. So people are voting. People are out and about in a way maybe they aren't even typically. So in this busy area of this town center, he throws his kids off a building. I mean, I'm just, like, obviously that's violent. Obviously that's horrific probably to see and hear. And to even imagine having the ability to do that, like you would, every bone in your body, every instinct in your body would stop you, prevent you. from doing that. I cannot get my head around this story.

00:08:17
Speaker 1: I haven't seen yet if there's any possible, we always say video is everywhere, cameras are everywhere. If there's any surveillance videos, they can piece together exactly how he did this, what that scene, those kids.

00:08:29
Speaker 2: They were quick to say, very quick to say to the police, as you pointed out at the beginning, this was not an accident. Because wouldn't you want to believe that initially, that maybe somehow, some way... someone was falling and then they were trying to save and then they fell off, but they, they didn't even give that a, a consideration based on the evidence that they found below. So don't know, or perhaps as you pointed out, there might've been surveillance cameras, but we did hear from mom, Anna Lynch. She did put out a social media post. Um, that is, it does offer, I guess, some explanation. It still leaves a lot of questions. Anna Lynch wrote this the night after. I mean, the evening of her children's death, my husband made the irreversible decision to kill our two children and himself this evening. Before the media jumps to conclusions, he was a wonderful dad. He was laid off in August and shortly after became depressed. I suggested he go to a therapist and which he agreed to go to and had an appointment booked for 11-4. One day too late. Please check on your loved ones. I never thought this is how our story would end. Rest in peace, my angels. James, you may ski all the bowls, and Caroline, may you eat all the Skittles and play in your own castle made of slime. Best. friends forever. She had pictures of the kids together, and she had a picture of her husband Patrick with the two kids in the sweetest, cutest, smiling photo you could imagine. It's just unthinkable.

00:10:14
Speaker 1: What are we missing? As people, as spouses, as loved ones, as friends, what are we missing in people? Robes, that's a pretty quick response, given what she just lost. Now, why she felt she needed to put that up and why she had to put it up now. But, Robes, I don't know what to make. I can't imagine, of course, what she's feeling and what she's going through, but she seemed quick to respond, to understand. that even this extreme action in some way computes for her. It doesn't seem so far, for her at least, as a stretch of the unthinkable. I hear in that something she knew or saw about him that she immediately pointed to. Robes, this would be like, oh my God, this is insane. What the hell happened? I know he was depressed, but Jesus, right? It It feels like, how long? How long did she see something? No, this is not a matter of putting some blame, no. But how long? And babe, you talked about, yes, there are triggering events. He lost a job in August. I mean, is it a coincidence that he had a session set up for the next day? Maybe it could have been. But was that on his mind?

00:11:30
Speaker 2: What?

00:11:31
Speaker 1: Rosen, you said once again, we talked about recently, when these happen, police are stretched thin in their resources. Who has time to go This is a open and shut type of case, if you will. I got two murders and an armed robbery to work on over here. Why do I need to have a detective spend a whole lot of time on this case, understanding this case? So that's maybe why we don't and haven't gotten and we'll be slow to get answers. Rose, this is urgent.

00:11:59
Speaker 2: It is urgent. It absolutely is. And I think maybe when we talk a little bit about Anna Lynch and how she has handled other adversities in her life, it might explain why she put out this post. When we come back, we're going to tell you how the community of Mount Lebanon is literally wrapping their arms around this woman who has lost everything. And again, we'll remind you the commonalities, the symptoms, so to speak, of these men who end up taking out their entire families. Welcome back everyone to Amy and TJ. Just a horrific, unthinkable tragedy in Pennsylvania, in Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania, where you have a 42-year-old man, father of two, loving father, loving husband, for whatever reason, threw his two young children off a building rooftop and then left to his own death. And his wife that evening put out a post saying he was a good husband. He was a wonderful dad. And the fact that he was one day, I guess one day late, uh, from getting help from talking to a therapist. And perhaps that's part of where she is headed with this because look, she faced adversity. She had just done an interview a few months prior with the local magazine about being the mother of a special needs child and about her co-founding the Inclusion Collective. She said when her daughter was born in 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic, they found out that their daughter had Williams syndrome and heart and lung disease. And so she wanted to empower parents as advocates. And so she literally was making her mess her message. And so I wonder if this is her way forward. This is her way out by saying, okay, this is the most unthinkable tragedy ever, but how do I find value and purpose in life after this? Maybe it's by raising awareness, by raising the issue of mental health advocacy, of learning the warning signs. I mean, she did say this is... never how she thought our story would end. But yet, as you pointed out, maybe there were clear warning signs. Obviously, she urged her husband, as she said in the post, to get help. It just wasn't soon enough.

00:14:29
Speaker 1: Who knows what she's been dealing with and for how long and how severe it got. But Robes, I don't know. What is, there is no condition they call this for men, right? Except ego bruising, right? You're What else is there? Man is that pride that there's a shame in not being able to be this upstanding provider or protector sometimes of your families. What triggers just psychotic behavior in a man? Robes, this is psychotic behavior.

00:15:02
Speaker 2: It is psychotic.

00:15:02
Speaker 1: That we see triggered repeatedly by a man losing his job, being kicked out of the house, being rejected by a woman. It shouldn't rise to that level, right, Robes?

00:15:12
Speaker 2: Yeah, this couldn't just be depression.

00:15:15
Speaker 1: I don't know, baby.

00:15:17
Speaker 2: And maybe we are missing a diagnosis that is out there that could point to this type of behavior. Maybe it comes out of depression, but it is obviously violent and irrational and apparently, according to Anna Lynch, completely out of character. That's the scary part. And look, the daycare that little Caroline attended, obviously they closed. And the whole area, the whole community is talking about having mental health support for people who knew the family, who loved those kids, who loved Anna. But they did make– I thought this was really special. They put a nod to the mom in their statement about little Caroline. And they said Anna, the mom, has dedicated so much of her life to advocating for children and ensuring they have safe, supportive environments in which to thrive. It's just so sad. She's dedicated her life to this. And now her own husband was the person she couldn't protect her children from. That is just– unbelievable. And look, there's a GoFundMe that's set up. I just checked that it's already at $ 161, 000 and counting to help the mom. I don't know how she picks up the pieces of her life after this.

00:16:34
Speaker 1: I don't know.

00:16:34
Speaker 2: How you could even get out of bed after a situation like this.

00:16:38
Speaker 1: I wonder where advocacy, not immediately, but I wonder, is there going to be someone who pushes, who, I mean, hell, even Patrick Clancy is suing the Right. The hospital system and the doctors. He's still saying you all failed us in some way. I don't know what advocacy we can have, Robes, in a case like this when it's got to do with a man who killed his kids. He's not around to answer questions. He didn't get help. So there's no record.

00:17:07
Speaker 2: Right.

00:17:07
Speaker 1: Of him talking to a doctor or anything. What do you do here, baby? And we just want to chalk it up to another tragedy. Oh, it's a shame. And we move on. hey, you put these together and you will clearly see something's going on in this country. Yes. It just is.

00:17:19
Speaker 2: And oftentimes the wife is a part of the body count, so to speak. And so the fact that she wasn't a part of it, maybe you need a situation like this, as awful as it is, for the surviving member of the family and who has already had a history of advocacy to go out and become the voice of this unfortunate family trend that is escalating, and it has. And we've done enough stories, but from 2017 to 2025, family and partner killings now account for 21% of all homicides. That's up from 15% in 2020. So in a period of just five, six years, we're seeing a dramatic increase in these types of mass murders, and they all have the same characteristics. Almost always white men difficulty with humiliation, don't have a history of domestic violence, don't have a history of criminal, any sort of criminal violence. They're often educated, successful, family oriented, and these are often tied to a recent financial difficulty or a relationship difficulty. Literally, this is check, check, check, check. I just urge you, look at the pictures of this family and the pictures of this man and his children. You know how you can see kindness and and warmth in people's smiles and faces. He literally has all the hallmarks of a loving father and husband. You would never think, looking at this family, that it could end the way it did.

00:18:49
Speaker 1: I would really like to hear from this woman. I would really like to hear more. This is an important story. And to hear details about the house. Like you said, Robes, Lindsay Clancy was an exception. And that we had a survivor, the husband and her. There's a lot of information we could get from... What led up to and how we missed things with her. It's important to hear what we might have missed here with him. What folks around might have missed with him. But we got to figure this out. I don't know when, at what point we feel like we're paying enough attention to it, Robes. And it's hard, right? It's so difficult to talk about this stuff. A guy just gunned down a house full of his own family members. You don't want to talk about that story every day. A guy just threw his kids off the garage roof. That's hard to hear. We don't want to study and get into that. And it's hard, Rosie, with Lindsay Clancy. People have a difficult time, what, extending any kind of grace or sympathy to her. Others obviously have, and she has supporters. We're talking about a dad here who did this. where does anybody's heart go out to him and what he might have been suffering through i'm saying that's a tall task that's hard and we get that unless we dig into his story and understand it the way we dug into lindsey clancy's don't know if ropes what do we know about all these familicides how much do we know about these men you and i look at these stories more than anybody I haven't heard a sympathetic note of any kind. They were in therapy. They were trying to get help. We saw these signs. I don't know.

00:20:17
Speaker 2: Nothing, right?

00:20:17
Speaker 1: No.

00:20:18
Speaker 2: Maybe Anna Lynch can carry that torch and hopefully light that path so that we can have better understanding and prevent this type of headline from happening just as often as it is.

00:20:30
Speaker 1: My God.

00:20:31
Speaker 2: All right. Well, we will stay on top of this. We always appreciate you listening to us, everyone. I'm Amy Robach alongside TJ Holmes.

00:20:38
Speaker 1: We'll talk to you soon.