Man kills wife and leaves her body for 13 hours with their young son, PA cops say
A man said he accidentally shot and killed his wife, who he said had thrown a book at him moments before the fatal shooting, according to Pennsylvania authorities and news reports.
Troopers said in a Pennsylvania State Police report they were dispatched to a home in Rye Township on Sept. 14 for a “domestic dispute.”
Upon arrival, they found 38-year-old Samantha Lynn Fields dead at the scene, according to a police report.
Douglas Snyder, who placed the initial 911 call, said he shot his wife after she threw a book at him, according to WGAL.
“I was pissed, I turned around, snapped and I shot her,” the 56-year-old accused shooter told deputies, according to WGAL.
According to court documents obtained by WPMT, the couple’s son was asleep during the shooting before discovering his mom’s body on the floor.
Snyder then left the home, abandoning his juvenile son with the boy’s dead mother for 13 hours, WHP reported, citing state police.
Troopers said the husband was taken into custody, and he was charged with criminal homicide and endangering the welfare of children, court records show. He was denied bail during his Sept. 15 arraignment.
“I guess I shot her by accident,” he told investigators, WHP reported. “I honest to God did not just shoot my wife.”
Fields was described in a GoFundMe as “a beautiful woman who put everyone else before herself.” She was a mother of three.
“We tried so hard to get you away from that monster,” Scooter Wingate said in a Facebook post. “Everyone just kept pushing you back there. The police wouldn’t do anything. I know how trapped you were and I tried everything to get you away from that. I’m so sorry I couldn’t do it.”
Fields worked in the health and insurance industry, according to the Daily Voice, which reported she was most recently a title processor in Camp Hill.
Rye Township is about a 15-mile drive northwest from Harrisburg.
This story was originally published September 18, 2025 at 11:53 AM with the headline "Man kills wife and leaves her body for 13 hours with their young son, PA cops say."