Father killed his kids one day before his therapy appointment

Patrick Lynch, 42, threw his two young children off a five-story parking garage in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, before jumping to his death, the New York Post reported.

James Lynch, 8, and Caroline Lynch, 6, were found dead at the base of the garage around 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner ruled their deaths homicides and Patrick’s death a suicide. All three died of blunt force injuries.

Lynch had been laid off from his job as a data scientist at Slice, a New Jersey technology company, in August. His wife, Anna, said he became depressed shortly after. She suggested he see a therapist. He agreed. The appointment was booked for Nov. 4.

He killed his children on Nov. 3.

“One day too late,” Anna Lynch wrote in a now-deleted Facebook post. “My husband made the irreversible decision to kill our two children and himself this evening.”

The family lived in a nearly $1 million home in Mt. Lebanon, an affluent Pittsburgh suburb. Lynch studied math and economics at Dartmouth College and earned an MBA from Carnegie Mellon. A GoFundMe for Anna Lynch has raised more than $210,000.

The Mt. Lebanon community is putting up Christmas lights early at Anna’s request, CBS News reported. Residents hung strands of white, gold and purple lights on their homes. “It’s a call to action,” said Carla Shinners, one of the neighbors who decorated. “Something you can do in a time where you feel hopeless.”

What the coverage missed

The New York Post report covers the deaths and Anna Lynch’s statement in detail. It does not examine the gap between Lynch agreeing to therapy and the appointment date. He was laid off in August. He became depressed shortly after. His wife suggested therapy. He agreed. The appointment was booked for Nov. 4 — roughly three months after the layoff, and one day after the murders.

The wait for a therapy appointment in the United States averages 48 days, according to a 2024 survey by the APA. Lynch waited about three months. That is longer than average but not unusual for a first appointment with a new provider, especially for someone paying out of pocket or navigating insurance.

The Post report also does not mention that Caroline had a rare medical syndrome, a detail reported in a separate Post story. A child with a chronic illness adds financial and emotional pressure to a family already dealing with job loss. The coverage treats the layoff as the trigger. The combination of layoff, depression and a sick child is more complex.

The CBS report on the Christmas lights is gentle and well-intentioned. It does not ask whether lights help the family or the community. The lights are for the neighbors, who feel helpless. Anna Lynch asked for them, but the request may have been a way to give people something to do rather than something she needs. The coverage does not explore that distinction.

What I think

The detail that stays is the appointment date. Nov. 4. One day after. Lynch agreed to get help. He had an appointment. He did not wait long enough, or the system did not move fast enough, or the depression was too heavy for the wait. The gap was one day.

Anna Lynch called her husband a “wonderful dad.” People will argue about whether a man who kills his children can be called that. The argument misses the point. She is grieving. She lost her husband and her children in the same hour. She is trying to hold two truths at once: that the man she married was good, and that he did something terrible. The Facebook post is not a defense. It is a widow trying to make sense of something that does not make sense.

The Christmas lights are a response to helplessness. A community watched a family die and could not stop it. Putting up lights is something to do when there is nothing to do. It does not help the dead. It helps the living.

The question the coverage does not ask is whether faster access to mental health care would have changed the outcome. Lynch had an appointment. He did not make it. If the appointment had been Oct. 4 instead of Nov. 4, would three children be alive? No one can answer that. But the question is worth asking, and the coverage does not ask it.

If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.