SLAIN TEEN'S MOM FACES DRUG CASE

Safe Stolen In Deadly Crime Reported To Hold Marijuana

A March 10 home invasion that resulted in the death of Christine Snyder's
daughter now has led to the mother's arrest.

Jessica Snyder, 18, was beaten to death when four men broke into her
Warrington home and stole her mother's safe, according to the Escambia
County Sheriff's Office. The men were arrested and charged with murder, and
the safe was recovered.

Investigators later cracked open Christine Snyder's safe and found more
than a pound of marijuana and $400 in cash.

An Escambia County judge issued a warrant for her arrest, and Snyder turned
herself in at Escambia County Jail on Wednesday morning. She was charged
with possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana with intent to distribute.

Escambia County sheriff's investigator Terry Kilgore said it was not easy
investigating a case in which Christine Snyder's status changed from a
grieving mother to the suspect in a third-degree felony.

"This poor woman has been through the wringer. We certainly do feel for her
and her family. We can't even imagine how tough it is for them," Kilgore
said. "But what can I say? We're entrusted to enforce the laws in the state
of Florida, and possession of marijuana is illegal. We've got no choice."

The charge against Snyder brings the total number of arrests in connection
with her daughter's slaying to six.

Four men believed to have participated in the robbery and slaying were
arrested within 24 hours of the crime. Another man who investigators said
was not at the crime scene but helped carry out the plan was arrested last
week and charged in the slaying.

While Kilgore said the investigation is not complete, he said authorities
no longer have specific suspects.

He said the reason for the delay in arresting Christine Snyder was obvious.
Investigators had the safe, which they could open at any time, and they
were concentrating more on finding the fifth murder suspect.

"You prioritize," Kilgore said. "The woman lost her child; let's not lose
focus on that. This is a homicide; this is not a drug case. We had the
drugs, so we knew they weren't going to be dealt any further."

At the crime

The four men who broke into Snyder's house on the morning of March 10 did
little to hide their actions.

Neighbors watched as the men moved around lawn furniture to back a car onto
the lawn of the house in the 1400 block of Wisteria Avenue. They watched as
the men carried what some believed was a large TV into the car.

The Snyders had been selling items recently, so few thought much of the
movement. But one neighbor called Christine Snyder, a lunch chef at Jamie's
restaurant, who returned home to find her daughter beaten to death.

Sheriff's deputies responded and arrested three of the men that afternoon
and confiscated the safe, which Kilgore said they had tried to open with
sledgehammers and screwdrivers.

Deputies tracked down the fourth suspect the next day.

The four arrested were:

Donnie Lee Williams, 18, of the 1200 block of Wilson Avenue.

William Murphy Allen Jr., 22, of the 500 block of Pelham Road.

Jermond Lamontea Thomas, 21, of Huntsville, Ala.

Charles Henry Miller Jr., 22, of the 4300 block of West Fairfield Drive.

Allen was a known acquaintance of the Snyders. Christine Snyder got him a
short-lived job at Jamie's, and Jessica Snyder briefly dated him.

Neighbors said Jessica Snyder also knew Williams - but not well.

Kilgore said he believes the men knew about the safe and its contents and
went to the Snyders' house that day for the sole purpose of stealing it.

After the crime

Kilgore and investigator John Sanderson did not open the safe until two
weeks later - after crime scene analysts finished fingerprinting and
removing other forensic evidence from the exterior of the safe.

But Kilgore said they already figured what was inside.

"We knew what we were going to find based on the investigation," Kilgore said.

Kilgore said common sense led them to focus first on Ryan Joseph Holle, 20,
of the 500 block of Pelham Road, whom they arrested and charged with murder
last week.

Investigators then turned their attention to Christine Snyder. Sanderson
said he could sense her apprehension during several interviews.

"It's like she was expecting to be arrested the last time I spoke to her,"
Sanderson said.

He said investigators are still looking into how long and how much
marijuana Christine Snyder had been dealing.

"You get statements from different people about this and that, but we're
still looking at all that to see the extent of her drug dealing," Sanderson
said.

Christine Snyder faces a possible five years in prison if convicted on the
drug charge. She remained in Escambia County Jail on $25,000 bond.

The five men charged in the murder also are being held at the jail without
bond, where they are housed separately and kept from communicating.

"Separating five people from each other is not a problem," said Jail
Director Dennis Williams.

Each faces a possible life term in prison if convicted of the murder.