Suffolk Teen Indicted on New Charges in Ex-Girlfriend's Fatal Shooting

Acting Supreme Court Justice Anthony Senft informed Austin Lynch, 18, of Nesconset during a brief Suffolk County Court appearance Monday that a grand jury had returned a new indictment against him, roughly six weeks after Lynch was found not competent to stand trial in the November fatal shooting of his ex-girlfriend Emily Finn.

The nature of the new charges remains under seal. Court officials declined to disclose specifics, and the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office declined to discuss the indictment. Senft scheduled an arraignment on the new counts for Friday, when Lynch's attorney, William Wexler, would be available. "I am going to put this matter back on the calendar for Friday, which is going to be about the new charges that have been brought against you," Senft told Lynch, who appeared in a green Suffolk County Correctional Facility jumpsuit.

Lynch was already indicted by a Suffolk County grand jury on a charge of Murder in the Second Degree for the Nov. 26, 2025 shooting death of Finn, his former girlfriend of roughly three-and-a-half years. Finn, 18, of Sayville, was a SUNY Oneonta freshman studying early childhood education and a Sayville High School graduate who had spent years as a ballerina with the American Ballet Studio in Bayport. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Prosecutors allege that on the morning of Nov. 26, Finn went to Lynch's home on Shenandoah Boulevard North in Nesconset to have a face-to-face conversation about their breakup and to return his belongings. She arrived at approximately 9:50 a.m. Friends told investigators she was scared of Lynch because he had been acting "crazy," but she went anyway, seeking closure. Lynch's parents, Jason and Melissa Lynch, were home at the time but were cleaning out a hot tub in the backyard. Lynch's father called 911 at 11:11 a.m. to report the shooting.

Prosecutors allege Lynch shot Finn in the back of the head with a shotgun before shooting himself. Lynch was transported to a local hospital and treated for facial fractures, a cranial leak and other injuries.

Lynch had broken up with Finn about two weeks before Thanksgiving 2025. Prosecutors allege he became obsessive afterward, calling and texting her relentlessly, and after she blocked his number, contacting her from a family member's phone. Lynch had planned to begin Marines bootcamp the following February; Finn had started her freshman year at SUNY Oneonta in fall 2025.

He was arraigned on the murder charge on Dec. 4, 2025, before Judge Philip Goglas, pleaded not guilty and was remanded without bail. Following subsequent court conferences before Senft and a defense-requested psychiatric evaluation, Senft on Jan. 30 ordered Lynch 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. That commitment is subject to review in one year unless Lynch is found fit to proceed sooner.

Homicide Bureau prosecutor Dena Rizopoulos and Major Crime Bureau prosecutor Keri Wasson are handling the case. Detective Adam Quinones of the Suffolk County Police Department Homicide Squad conducted the investigation.

District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said in a statement: "This is a tragic case. Emily Finn should still be alive and back at college. Instead, the defendant allegedly robbed her of that experience and her future."

If convicted on the top count of Murder in the Second Degree, Lynch faces 25 years to life in prison. Criminal complaints and indictments are accusatory instruments; Lynch is presumed innocent until proven guilty.