David Snyder
Murderer
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- Gender
- male
- Country
- USA
- Location
- Florida/Maryland, USA
- Date of birth
- 1963
- Age at first offence
- 19
- Characteristics
- rape
- Victim profile
- Carla Hanovan, 14 / Seandra Hogan, 16 / Deborah Boone, 17 / Christy Brittingham, 14
- Method of murder
- Strangulation
- Date(s) of murder
- 1982 - 1984
- Years active
- 1982–1984
- Date of arrest
- May 31, 1984
- Status
-
Life imprisonment
Sentenced to life in prison in Maryland on May 29, 1985; pleaded guilty to the Brittingham murder on April 3, 1985
Background
On May 29, 1984, 14-year-old Christy Brittingham was found, nude and strangled, in a wooded area 300 yards from her apartment complex in Ellicott City, Maryland.
At the time of his arrest, David Snyder was already under indictment for breaking into a dairy store at the complex; he was free on bail when Christy disappeared on May 24.
David Snyder was suspected in other cases as well. He was suspected in the Baltimore strangling of 17-year-old Deborah Boone in 1983, and in two more killings in his hometown Tampa, Florida. One Tampa victim, 14-year-old Carla Hanovan, was found strangled in a suburban field in November 1982. A month later, victim Seandra Hogan, age 16, was found northeast of town.
Snyder had been questioned as a suspect in both Tampa cases, admitting his acquaintance with the girls. He was freed for lack of evidence in those cases.
The offence
Christy Brittingham was found nude and strangled in Ellicott City, Maryland, in a wooded area 300 yards from her apartment complex. The disappearance occurred on May 24, and she was found on May 29, 1984.
In Maryland, Snyder also faced rape-related charges in new cases involving victims who survived.
Investigation
David Snyder admitted speaking with Brittingham near the apartment house pool on the day she disappeared, but he insisted that he did not see her after five o'clock.
A witness challenged Snyder’s statement, claiming the witness had seen the man and girl together walking toward the woods around 5:30.
Snyder was suspected in additional stranglings beyond the Brittingham case:
- Deborah Boone, 17-year-old, strangled in Baltimore in 1983
- Carla Hanovan, 14-year-old, found strangled in a suburban field in November 1982 in Tampa, Florida
- Seandra Hogan, age 16, found northeast of town a month after Hanovan
Arrest
Two days after Christy Brittingham was found, police arrested David Snyder, a neighbor, on a charge of first-degree murder and locked him up without bond.
At the time of arrest, Snyder was free on bail for an indictment involving breaking into a dairy store at the complex.
Trial
On April 3, 1985, Snyder pleaded guilty to the Brittingham murder.
Sentencing
On May 29, 1985, Snyder was sentenced to life imprisonment in Maryland.
Appeals
No appeal information was provided.
Outcome
Snyder received a life sentence on the Brittingham murder.
In addition to the Brittingham case, Maryland charged Snyder on July 19, 1984, with two counts of first-degree rape, plus one count of assault and battery in new cases involving victims who survived.
Other details
Michael Newton - An Encyclopedia of Modern Serial Killers - Hunting Humans SEX: M RACE: W TYPE: TN MOTIVE: Sex. MO: Rape-slayer of girls age 14-17 DISPOSITION: Life sentence on one count in Md., 1985.
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