RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — An 18-year-old Long Island man charged with fatally shooting his teenage ex-girlfriend in a botched murder-suicide has been ordered to undergo a third psychological evaluation to determine whether he is competent to stand trial, after prosecutors revealed he allegedly tried to hire a fellow inmate to rob the victim’s family home.

Austin Lynch of Nesconset appeared in Suffolk County Court on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, before Judge Anthony S. Senft Jr. The judge noted contradictory findings from prior mental health assessments and stated the court was in an “untenable position.”

“The court is now in an untenable position — I now have contradictory findings,” Senft said, according to reports. “He is capable of standing trial on that second case. The only issue we have is the first case where he was found incompetent, and those two decisions are opposite each other.”

Lynch is charged with second-degree murder in the Nov. 26, 2025, death of Emily Finn, 18, of West Sayville. Finn, a recent Sayville High School graduate and freshman at SUNY Oneonta studying early childhood education, was an accomplished ballerina who had trained and taught at the American Ballet Studio in Bayport.

Prosecutors say the pair had dated for about three and a half years, beginning when both were 14. Finn ended the relationship roughly two weeks before the shooting. Lynch, who had enlisted in the Marine Corps and was scheduled to report for boot camp in February 2026, allegedly became possessive, accusatory and overbearing after Finn left for college.

On the morning of Nov. 26, while home for Thanksgiving break, Finn went to Lynch’s home on Shenandoah Boulevard North in Nesconset to return belongings or discuss the breakup. As she prepared to leave — car keys still in her hand — Lynch allegedly shot her once in the back of the head at point-blank range with a family shotgun. He then turned the weapon on himself, suffering severe facial injuries but surviving. His father called 911 after hearing the shots.

Lynch was indicted on Dec. 4, 2025, for murder in the second degree, a charge that carries a potential sentence of 25 years to life. In January 2026, Judge Senft found him mentally incapacitated and unfit to stand trial, ordering him held in a New York State Office of Mental Health facility for at least a year pending reevaluation.

While in Suffolk County Jail, between early and late December 2025, Lynch allegedly drew a detailed map of Finn’s West Sayville family home and instructed a fellow inmate on how to enter the property, where to find a hidden key, the lack of security cameras, and the location of valuables including jewelry in Finn’s second-floor bedroom. Prosecutors said the plot was intended to continue terrorizing the victim’s family. Members of Finn’s family were still living in the home at the time.

Lynch was indicted in March 2026 on a charge of conspiracy in the fourth degree. A subsequent evaluation found him competent to stand trial on the conspiracy charge, creating the conflicting assessments that prompted the third evaluation. Defense attorney William Wexler objected to the new exam, arguing that people with mental illness can have lucid moments while remaining incapacitated overall.

Lynch is due back in court on Sept. 17, 2026. He faces an additional potential sentence of up to 1⅓ to 4 years if convicted on the conspiracy charge.

Friends and relatives of Finn attended the July hearing, many wearing pink in her honor. Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney has previously described the case as tragic, stating that Emily Finn “should still be alive and back at college.”

Sources

• New York Post