| For Immediate Release Case # 07HF0707
August 7, 2009 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Public Affairs Counsel Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
ESTRANGED HUSBAND SENTENCED FOR STABBING AND MURDERING MOTHER OF HIS
THREE YOUNG SONS
SANTA ANA – An estranged husband who attacked his wife in front of their three young children was sentenced today to 15 years to life in state prison for stabbing and murdering the victim in her Irvine home. Terry Raymond Snyder Jr., 48, Irvine, pleaded guilty on July 24, 2009, to one felony count of second degree murder with a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a deadly weapon.
Following a guilty plea in January 2007 to a misdemeanor domestic violence charge, Snyder had a protective order issued against him, barring him from having any violent contact with his wife, Yolanda Snyder. Shortly thereafter, the victim filed for divorce. The couple shared custody of three young sons, ages 2, 4, and 7 years old.
On April 7, 2007, Snyder drove to the Irvine home of his estranged wife and their three children. After going inside the home, the defendant became angry with Yolanda Snyder and put her in a head lock as she held their 2-year-old son in her arms. The three children ran from their home to a neighbor’s house and the neighbor called 9-1-1.
Once the children had left the house, Snyder murdered the victim by stabbing her repeatedly with a kitchen knife. He then fled the scene. Upon seeing Snyder leave, the neighbor went to check on Yolanda Snyder and found her lying in a pool of blood in the kitchen.
During the sentencing today, the victim’s sister made a victim impact statement saying that their beautiful sister was taken from them and that the boys that she loved so much are now deprived of a life without their mother.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Steve McGreevy of the Homicide Unit prosecuted this case.
###