The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Wednesday that two young siblings found dead at the base of a Pennsylvania parking garage were killed by their father in a murder-suicide, with both children dying from multiple blunt force injuries.
James Lynch, 8, was pronounced dead at 4:35 p.m. Tuesday, approximately 20 minutes after first responders discovered his body alongside his 6-year-old sister Caroline and their father Patrick Lynch, 42, at the foot of a five-story garage in Mt. Lebanon, a Pittsburgh suburb, according to police and the medical examiner. Caroline was declared dead just one minute after her brother, the ME’s office confirmed.
Patrick Lynch’s cause and time of death had not been released publicly by Wednesday afternoon, though county police had already indicated their preliminary investigation pointed toward murder-suicide. Mt. Lebanon Police Chief Jason Haberman told reporters at the scene that the incident was being investigated “not as an accident.”
Caroline had been battling Williams syndrome, a rare genetic disorder affecting growth, cognition, and the cardiovascular system, since shortly after her birth, according to a 2025 interview with her mother in Mt. Lebanon Magazine. The condition also left her with heart and lung disease.
The children’s mother, Anna Lynch, now faces the task of burying her husband and both children. A GoFundMe organized by family friend Gina Pugliano had raised nearly $70,000 toward a $110,000 goal as of Wednesday afternoon.
“Last night, these 2 beautiful, perfect children lost their lives in the most unimaginable way,” Pugliano wrote in the fundraiser’s bio.
“No mother should ever have to experience this kind of pain. Especially Anna, who devoted her life to her family and to the community. To know her is to love her.”
Pugliano continued, “Nothing I write here will bring her babies back and give her any sense of justice or peace. If we, her family and friends, can ease the financial burden of having to bury her children and her husband, it would be a relief.”
What motivated Patrick Lynch to kill his children and himself remained unclear Wednesday. The family had been living in the affluent community of Mt. Lebanon, where Anna Lynch had been profiled in a local magazine interview discussing her daughter’s medical challenges and her family’s life.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached at 800-273-TALK (8255), and the Crisis Text Line is available by texting 741741. The 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Hotline can also be reached by dialing 988.