Nesconset teen Austin Lynch not competent to stand trial in killing of former girlfriend Emily Finn, judge says

A Suffolk teen accused of killing his former girlfriend as she visited him to return his belongings in November is not mentally fit to stand trial at this time, a judge determined Friday.

Austin Lynch, 18, of Nesconset, will be committed to a New York State Office of Mental Health hospital until he is able to understand the charges against him and aid in his defense, according to the order read from the bench by acting Suffolk Supreme Court Justice Anthony Senft Jr.

Lynch's defense requested a psychiatric exam Dec. 10 to determine his competency. Under state law, the legal proceedings against him cannot continue until he is restored to competency.

Senft said multiple mental health professionals found Lynch to be an incapacitated person. Prosecutors did not contest the findings.

Senft said Lynch's status will be reviewed on an annual basis or until he is found capable of assisting counsel in his defense.

Lynch is charged with second-degree murder in the Nov. 26 shooting death of Emily Finn. Prosecutors have said Lynch fired a single shot from close range into the back of Finn's head as she was looking to leave his home before turning the gun on himself, surviving a shot to his face. He has pleaded not guilty.

Members of Finn's family held up photographs of her as Lynch was brought into the courtroom Friday and throughout the brief proceeding.

Prosecutors have called Lynch's actions, which occurred on the eve of both Thanksgiving and his 18th birthday, premeditated and intentional, arguing he was distraught after Finn ended their three-year relationship two weeks before and had declared his intent to show her "how angry he was" and end his life. Finn, 18, of West Sayville, had just returned home for the holiday from SUNY Oneonta. She was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Friends told investigators the young couple's relationship had broken down after Finn left to attend college in the fall, and Lynch, who had enlisted in the Marines and was set to report to boot camp in February, became "possessive, accusatory and overbearing," Assistant District Attorney Dena Rizopoulos said at his arraignment.

On two visits he made to her school in October, the most recent on Halloween, the couple fought, witnesses told police.

When they broke up in November, Finn blocked Lynch's number because he was "texting [her] incessantly," Rizopoulos said. He also tried contacting her repeatedly through social media and by using his mother's phone, the prosecutor said.

"When unable to access the victim, [Lynch] began regularly calling one of her best friends," Rizopoulos told the arraignment judge. "He told this friend he wanted to die and he was going to kill himself."

Rizopoulos said evidence from the home at Shenandoah Boulevard North showed Lynch loaded just two shots into the gun, a Charles Daly Turkey 12-gauge semiautomatic shotgun.

The prosecutor previously said a string of messages sent by Lynch to Finn's friend between Nov. 12 and 20 outlined his intentions for the killing.

"'I have set my mind on leaving this place the day before my 18th birthday," one message read aloud by the prosecutor at Lynch's arraignment said. "I [expletive] hate her."

Friends told investigators Finn was scared of Lynch because he was acting "crazy," but met up with him to return his belongings anyway. She arrived at the home at 9:50 a.m. intent on meeting with him "face to face," seeking closure, Rizopoulos previously said.

Lynch's parents, Jason and Melissa Lynch, were home at the time of the shooting, but were cleaning out a hot tub in the backyard, the prosecutor said. His father called 911 to report the shooting at 11:11 a.m.