Nesconset teen pleads not guilty to murder of Emily Finn, 18, of West Sayville

The Nesconset teen accused of killing his ex-girlfriend from West Sayville had confided to a friend about his anger over their breakup and his plan to take his own life, a Suffolk prosecutor revealed Thursday during his arraignment on murder charges, according to a report.

Austin Lynch, who turned 18 a day after the Nov. 26 shooting and is being charged as an adult, appeared in acting Suffolk Supreme Court Justice Philip Goglas’s courtroom, Newsday reported, with visible injuries from shooting himself in what authorities said was a murder-suicide attempt that left 18-year-old Emily Finn dead.

Assistant Suffolk County District Attorney Dena Rizopoulos told the court that Lynch — pictured above with Finn last spring in a photo posted by Finn on Instagram — had told a friend his desire to demonstrate “how angry he was” about the relationship ending and indicated he would take his own life the day before turning 18.

Rizopoulos said in court that Lynch fired just two rounds from his shotgun, killing Finn near the entryway of his residence before turning the weapon on himself, Newsday’s Grant Parpan reported.

“The evidence indicates a clear intent to murder his ex-girlfriend, a pre-meditated intention,” Rizopoulos said.

Lynch pleaded not guilty to a grand jury indictment charging him with second-degree murder and was ordered held without bail. He entered the courtroom with a bandage between his eyes from his forehead to his nose, where prosecutors said he shot himself.

Finn was a freshman at SUNY Oneonta studying early childhood/elementary education with a minor in dance. Back home for Thanksgiving break, she was attempting to return some of Lynch’s belongings following their breakup two weeks earlier, police have said.

Finn died at the scene. Lynch was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital in critical but stable condition. He was cleared medically and brought to Riverhead for arraignment.

Lynch’s parents were at home at the time of the shooting, but working in the backyard, the prosecutor said. His father called 911 to report the shooting.

There was “no domestic history” between the victim and the teen and no previous 911 calls regarding the young couple, police had said.

Lynch had enlisted in the Marines and was set to attend boot camp at Parris Island in February, his attorney William Wexler said in court, Newsday reported.

In a heartfelt Instagram tribute, Finn’s teacher Megan Scholz remembered the teen’s arrival at the studio at age 12 as a quiet, sweet student who later blossomed into a determined and inspiring leader.

“Emily came to ABS at 12 years old, quiet, sweet and unsure, but before long she grew into a leader and a role model who everyone looked up to,” Scholz wrote. “She remembered every correction, always knew all the changes, and constantly kept us all on track. Reliable, hardworking and so endlessly kind.”

Services for Finn were held Sunday and Monday in West Sayville, with many of the attendees wearing pink in honor of her favorite color.

A GoFundMe campaign established to support Finn’s family has raised more than $95,000 from some 1,500 donations, with contributions pouring in from the dance and school communities in the Sayville area as well as from across Long Island and beyond.

The Uvalde Foundation for Kids announced it will plant a memorial tree in Finn’s memory at the Finger Lakes National Forest as part of its Trees for Peace Youth Gun Violence Memorial program.

_{Top: Austin Lynch and Emily Finn at a senior prom last spring (Instagram / @emily_finn1015).}

West Sayville teen killed by ex-boyfriend, who then shot himself in face, cops say