A Nesconset teenager accused of killing his ex-girlfriend inside his home last November was found competent to stand trial during a court hearing last week.
Austin Lynch, 18, according to the Suffolk County Police Department, shot and killed his ex-girlfriend Emily Finn, of West Sayville, while she was visiting home before Thanksgiving last year. Suffolk County Supreme Court Judge Anthony Senft ruled on Sept. 17 that Lynch is competent to stand trial following multiple state-ordered mental health evaluations.
Prosecuting attorney and assistant district attorney Dena Rizopoulos said the court order will allow the case “to move forward,” after an initial mental health evaluation conducted shortly after Finn’s death found Lynch mentally “incapacitated.”
In January, Judge Senft had deemed Lynch, who police said had shot himself the same day of Finn’s death, unfit to stand trial due to the initial State Office of Mental Health evaluation, but the judge ordered a new evaluation in March after Lynch faced a new charge.
On March 20, Lynch was arraigned for a burglary conspiracy charge. Prosecuting attorney Rizopoulos said at the arraignment that while in custody in December, Lynch had plotted with another inmate to rob the Finn family by providing the inmate with detailed information about the family’s home security procedures and the locations of valuable belongings.
“He wanted to continue to make this family suffer,” Rizopoulos said during the arraignment hearing.
Senft entered a plea of not guilty on Lynch’s behalf, and defense attorney William Wexler refused to participate in the hearing due to the previous “incapacitated” ruling, arguing that only a state-mandated psychiatric evaluation could determine Lynch’s mental state and whether he could stand fit for the charges he faced.
Senft ordered another mental health evaluation, and following the result, in July, Senft deemed Lynch fit to stand trial. With conflicting evaluation results, Senft ordered a third evaluation that would apply to both the murder and burglary charges. That result came on Sept 17, aligning with the second evaluation and determination that Lynch is mentally fit to stand trial.
The Finn family had no comment on the latest evaluation.
According to district attorney Ray Tierney’s office, Finn broke up with Lynch two weeks before last Thanksgiving after dating for three years, with Lynch becoming “obsessive” and “calling and texting Finn non-stop,” despite Finn studying upstate at SUNY Oneonta and Lynch living at home.
Finn was an aspiring elementary school teacher and dancer, who was remembered by family, friends, and community members for her generous and bright spirit. For years, Finn danced at the American Ballet Studio in Bayport, which continues to honor the young dancer through performances at an outdoor stage created by the community earlier this summer. The Finn family also created a foundation in Emily’s name to raise awareness for youth mental health and domestic violence.
Lynch is next scheduled to appear in court on Mon., Oct. 19.
