“This is a tragic case,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said on December 5th. “Emily Finn should still be alive and back at college. Instead, the defendant allegedly robbed her of that experience and her future.”
Nesconset teenager Austin Lynch, 18, was charged with Murder in the Second Degree for the fatal Thanksgiving-week shooting of his ex-girlfriend, 18-year-old Emily Finn of Sayville that day.
According to investigators, Finn had gone to Lynch’s home on the morning of November 26th while home on holiday break from college to speak with him about the recent end of their relationship.
The pair began dating at age 14. Finn had recently begun studying early childhood education at SUNY Oneonta, while Lynch planned to start Marine boot camp in February.
Two weeks before Thanksgiving, Finn ended the relationship. Authorities said Lynch subsequently became increasingly obsessive, calling and texting her persistently.
When Finn finally blocked him, Lynch allegedly continued contacting her through a family member’s phone. Witnesses told investigators that a distraught Lynch expressed suicidal ideations “multiple times.”
Prosecutors said that as Finn attempted to leave Lynch’s residence, he allegedly shot her in the back of the head at point-blank range using a family-owned shotgun. He then allegedly turned the weapon on himself, suffering facial fractures and a cranial leak. He was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital.
Lynch’s father called 9-1-1 and reported that his son had shot Finn and himself.
Responders found Finn deceased near the doorway, coat-on, keys in-hand, and purse by her side.
Lynch was arraigned on December 4th and held without bail. He is due back in court on December 8 and faces 25 years to life in prison.
A GoFundMe created in Finn’s honor has raised more than $97,000.
“Emily leaves a hole in the lives of her mother, father, brother, aunts, uncles, cousins, and many friends,” Heather Corcoran wrote. “Through her many years as a dancer, the children she taught as she prepared for a future as a teacher, and simply as a friend to so many, she will be sorely missed by all who knew her.”