Ohio Foster Mother Stabbed to Death UPDATED and Lawsuit

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Willoughby Hills, Ohio, Foster child Sabrina Zunich,18, is accused of stabbing her foster mother Lisa Knoefel,41, to death last week.

“Police received a frantic 9-1-1 call at 1:15 a.m. from Lisa Knoefel’s 13-year-old daughter, who was awakened by the attack and was screaming into the phone that her sister had a knife and was killing her mother.

Police arrived at the Chagrin Drive home and confronted the 18-year-old, Knoefel’s foster daughter. Officers reported that the young woman was covered with blood and holding a knife.

They found Knoefel, 41, on the floor in her bedroom, with stab wounds in her face and neck. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Knoefel had worked for the Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services as a sex-abuse social worker.

Police did not know a motive for the attack, Chief Christopher Collins said during an afternoon news conference. The teen had lived in the home for about a year and a half with Knoefel, her husband and Knoefel’s two children. The victim’s husband is a truck driver who was on the road at the time, the chief said.

The suspect, a student at Willoughby South High School, was in the Lake County Jail on Friday. Collins said charges would be filed next week.

“It’s a tragic loss for them and the community,” Collins said.

Workers at the Cuyahoga child-welfare agency where Knoefel worked since 2000 also were grieving.

“We learned this morning our colleague, Lisa Knoefel, was murdered at her home,” Patricia Rideout, director of the Cuyahoga agency, told her staff in an email.

“Lisa’s commitment to children led her not only to us, as a dedicated member of the DCFS family, but also to become a foster parent,” Rideout’s statement said. “Her heart and home were opened to a child who needed her.”

Police say no motive known in fatal stabbing of foster mother in Willoughby Hills

[Cleveland Plains-Dealer 11/19/12 by Harlan Spector]

On Monday, November 19, 2012 “Sabrina A. Zunich, 18, was arraigned and charged with the murder of her 41-year-old foster mother Lisa M. Knoefel.
Prosecutor Michael Germano requested a bond of $750,000, which acting Judge Almis J. Stempuzis granted.
Stempuzis also said the charge of murder carries a possible penalty of 15 years to life in prison”

“No plea was entered at the hearing.
At 1:16 a.m. Friday, Willoughby Hills dispatchers received a 911 call from a 13-year-old female who was screaming that her sister had a knife and was attacking her mother, police said.
When police arrived three minutes later, the 13-year-old caller ran out the front door to meet them. Officers then found Zunich, a student at Willoughby South High School, inside the home covered in blood and holding a knife.
Officers then went into a first-floor bedroom, where they found Knoefel with multiple stab wounds. Crews tried to resuscitate her, but she was pronounced dead on the scene.
On Friday afternoon Willoughby Hills Police Chief Christopher J. Collins said Knoefel worked at the Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family Services. The victim’s husband was on the road working as a truck driver at the time of the incident.
The chief added that the 911 caller was the victim’s biological daughter from a previous relationship and a 3-year-old daughter of the Knoefels also was home during the attack.

Willoughby Hills teen charged with murder in foster mother’s stabbing

[News-Herald 11/19/12 by Matthew Skrajner]

“A teen girl in Ohio has stabbed her foster  mother to death in front of the woman’s own daughter, police say.

Sabrina Zunich, 18, was found covered in  blood, knife still in her hand, inside Lisa Knoefel’s home on  Friday night.

Detectives found Ms Knoefel, 40, a devoted  social worker and mother, dead in her bedroom with numerous stab wounds to her  face and throat.”

“Officers rushed to Ms Knoefel’s house in  Willoughby Hills, Ohio, after her screaming daughter, age 13, called 911.

The girl watched in horror as Zunich hacked  her mother to death, according to police.

Zunich sobbed and wiped away tears as she  appeared in court on Monday.”

“Zunich was sent to foster care after her  father died and her grandmother declared she could no longer take care of  her.

The grandmother, Anna Zunich, told the TV  station she was horrified by the allegations against her granddaughter.

‘I don’t believe any of that, that’s  happening. This is a nightmare. She’s not capable of that,’ she said.

Ms Knoefel was a social worker for the  Cuyahoga County Department of Family Services in nearby Cleveland who  specialized in counseling child sexual assault victims, her co-workers  said.

‘Lisa’s commitment to children led her not  only to us, as a dedicated member of the (family services) family, but also to  become a foster parent,’ the department’s director told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. ‘Her heart and home  were opened to a child who needed her.'”

 

Teen ‘stabbed foster mother to death’ in front of her own daughter

[Daily Mail 11/20/12]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update: “Months after a teen was charged with murdering her foster mother, another arrest has been made.

U.S. marshals and police arrested Kevin Knoefel for the murder of his wife. He is accused of conspiracy to commit aggravated murder.

According to an 11-count indictment, Knoefel and his foster daughter, Sabrina Zunich,  planned the murder.

Knoefel is also indicted on sexual battery charges. The indictment says he engaged in sexual conduct with Zunich.

The indictment says Knoefel told Zunich how to stab his wife, Lisa Knoefel.

She was killed in her family home on Chagrin Drive in Willoughby Hills on Nov. 16, 2012.

At the time of this report, Zunich remained locked in the Lake County jail in lieu of bond.

Her case has not yet been presented to the grand jury.”

Husband Arrested in Foster Mom Murder

[FOx 8 8/9/13 by Peggy Sinkovich]

Update 2: “A Willoughby man accused of conspiring with his foster daughter to murder his wife, appeared in court on Friday for his arraignment hearing.

Kevin Knoefel plead not guilty to 11 charges including sexual battery, aggravated murder, and complicity to commit aggravated murder.

Prosecutor Patrick Condon alleges Knoefel played a role in the death of his wife, Lisa. She was found dead in their home back in November. They claim their foster daughter, Sabrina Zunich, stabbed the victim repeatedly.

They don’t believe the 18-year-old acted alone though; they say Kevin Knoefel helped her plan the whole thing.

“The defendant discussed that Sabrina Zunich make the death of Lisa Knoefel look like a burglary,” said Condon.

The arraignment hearing went smoothly. The only debate was over the bond recommendation. Knoefel’s attorney wanted it to be lowered.

They also requested that he be released from jail so he could care for his child.

“These are life changing events, and he could face life in prison,” said Knoefel’s attorney during the hearing.

The judge denied that request and set bond at $5 million.”

Husband Pleads Not Guilty in Foster Mom Murder

[Fox 8 8/16/13 by Brittany Harris]

Update 3: “The behavior of Kevin Knoefel, 43, before and after his wife was murdered, was the subject of dramatic testimony on the third day of Knoefel’s murder conspiracy trial.

A corrections officer at the Lake County Jail testified that Kevin Knoefel showed up at the jail on the day after his wife, Lisa Knoefel, 41, was stabbed 178 times in the couple’s Willoughby Hills home by their foster daughter, Sabrina Zunich, 19.

Officer Jay Leonard said Knoefel wanted to visit Sabrina Zunich and seemed irritated when he was told he could not see Zunich. “There was a little counter on the top and he did put his hands on it to talk to me, said ‘you do not understand; I need to see her,” said Leonard.

Lake County social worker, Nicole Corbett, was devastated when she learned on November 16, 2012 that Lisa Knoefel had been murdered by Sabrina Zunich.

Corbett supervised Sabrina’s case and had recommended that the troubled teen be placed in the Knoefel home, despite a history of psychiatric problems.

When asked by defense attorney, Michael Connick, if she recalled incidents where Sabrina Zunich was hearing voices telling her to hurt people, Corbett said, “yes, once.”

After the murder of Lisa Knoefel, investigators discovered evidence that Kevin Knoefel had seduced Sabrina Zunich and was having a sexual relationship with his foster daughter.

The affair was a secret before the murder, and that’s why the case worker didn’t give it a second thought when she approved Sabrina’s request to take a modeling class, recommended by Kevin Knoefel, who had been taking photos of the girl. Corbett said, “So I had asked where this money was coming from, and she said that Kevin was helping pay for it.”

Corbett also told the jury that before the murder, Kevin Knoefel asked her if he would be able to get custody of Sabrina Zunich, if he and his wife divorced.

After Sabrina Zunich was arrested for the murder of Lisa Knoefel, the case worker went to visit Zunich in jail, and was surprised by what the accused killer said. “I had not mentioned anyone else, and I did let her know at the beginning of this that anything she says is not confidential, and she said, ‘I don’t know why people think Kevin had something to do with this. I don’t why they’d say that,’ and I had not mentioned his name at all.”

A Chase bank employee testified that Kevin Knoefel and Sabrina Zunich maintained a joint bank account, and that after the murder of his wife, Knoefel transferred thousands of dollars into Zunich’s account.”

Relationship details revealed between husband, foster daughter[FOX 8 6/4/14 by Jack Shea]

Update 4: “In chilling detail, Sabrina Zunich, 19, testified how her foster father, Kevin Knoefel, 43, convinced her to murder his wife, 41-year-old Lisa Knoefel at the couple’s home in November 2012.

Zunich testified that after a troubled upbringing, she was happy that she was allowed to move into the Knoefel’s  home in Willoughby Hills in 2011.

She said Kevin Knoefel later began an intimate relationship with her when she was 17. She said it began when Knoefel asked for a massage. Zunich told the jury, “I was massaging his inner thighs because of him being a truck driver and having pain there.”

Zunich said the illegal relationship progressed to the point that they were together any time that Knoefel’s wife and 13-year-old daughter were not in the home. Zunich  testified, “He was a foster father when he needed to be and a lover when not being a foster father.”

But there was trouble in the home. Lisa Knoefel viewed Sabrina Zunich as a disruptive force and began to suspect her husband viewed Sabrina as more than a foster daughter. “She wanted me out,” said Zunich.

Sabrina Zunich said it was in the fall of 2012, that Kevin Knoefel began to talk about having his wife killed, and told Zunich about the $785,000 in insurance policies he had on Lisa Knoefel’s life.

Zunich told the jury that Knoefel told her, “She would be worth more dead than alive,” and “He talked about how to kill her.”

Zunich said Knoefel eventually suggested that she stab Lisa Knoefel with a large knife, and that’s what she did 178 times in the early morning hours of November 16, 2012. When asked by prosecutors why she did it, Zunich said, “Because I was doing what I was told to do.” When asked who told her to do it, she said, “Kevin.” And when asked why she kept stabbing, she said, “Because I already knew I was going to jail.”

Zunich is testifying as part of a deal her attorney negotiated with Lake County prosecutors. She is expected to plead guilty to an aggravated murder charge, and will then face a prison term of 30 years to life in prison.”

Teen gives chilling details of foster mom’s murder [FOX 8 6/5/14 by Jack Shea]

Update 5:”A man accused of having sex with his teenage foster daughter was convicted today of conspiring with her to kill his wife.

Prosecutors told jurors that Kevin Knoefel, 43, showed his foster daughter Sabrina Zunich how to stab his wife and that he wanted her out of the picture but was afraid he’d lose custody of their 3-year-old daughter if they divorced. Zunich then allegedly stabbed Lisa Knoefel to death in her bed.

A Lake County jury convicted Knoefel on six counts of sexual battery, three counts of complicity to aggravated murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated murder.

The father appeared emotionless as he was handcuffed and led out of the courtroom by police officers, according to The News-Herald.

Knoefel, who plans to appeal, could face 25 years to life in prison.

Zunich, now 19, testified last week that she put on a ski mask and fatally stabbed 41-year-old Lisa Knoefel in her bed as she fought back in November 2012, when she was 17.

 

Prosecutors said Zunich stabbed and cut her more than 150 times with the 10-inch serrated knife.

Zunich said she had fallen in love with her foster father and feared he would commit suicide if she didn’t carry out their plot to kill his wife.

Knoefel picked out the knife and showed her how to plunge it in once and twist, she said.

She hid the weapon under her bedroom dresser in the home in Willoughby Hills, west of Cleveland.

She said they were carrying on a sexual relationship and discussed several plans to kill Lisa Knoefel, including shooting her and making it look like a burglary, or finding a hit man

Knoefel finally suggested that Zunich stab his wife, she said.

Defense attorney Michael Connick said that Zunich was mentally ill and acted alone.

He said she was upset because the Knoefels had told her she would need to move out before her high school graduation.

Zunich said she reached an agreement to testify against Knoefel in exchange for a sentence of life in prison with the chance for parole in 30 years.

Zunich was arrested the night of the slaying.

Police said they found Zunich in the house covered with blood and holding a knife after getting a 911 call from a 13-year-old girl screaming that her sister had a knife and was attacking her mother.”

Husband convicted of conspiring to murder wife after foster daughter he was sleeping with ‘stabbed her 150 times with a 10inch kitchen knife’[Daily Mail 6/11/14 By Associated Press]

Update 6: “A 19-year-old woman has been indicted on a charge of aggravated murder in the stabbing death of her foster mother.

Sabrina Zunich has been behind bars since November 2012, when police found her holding a bloody kitchen knife in her foster parents’ home.

She is charged with plotting with her foster father to kill 41-year-old Lisa Knoefel (ku-NOF’-ul) at their suburban Cleveland home. A Lake County jury convicted 43-year-old Kevin Knoefel last month of conspiracy to commit aggravated murder in his wife’s death. His sentencing is Aug. 6.

Authorities say Kevin Knoefel and Zunich were sexually involved. Zunich testified against her foster father in a plea deal. Prosecutors will recommend a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole in 30 years.

Her attorney did not return calls.”

Teen indicted for murder in foster mother’s death[ABC 22 7/15/14 by Associated Press]

Update 7: ” A judge has increased the bond from $750,000 to $5 million for a woman who testified that her foster father convinced her to kill his wife in November 2012.

Nineteen-year-old Sabrina Zunich was indicted on a charge of aggravated murder last week in the stabbing death of 41-year-old Lisa Knoefel (ku-NOF’-ul).

The (Willoughby) News-Herald (http://bit.ly/1mz78er ) reports she is scheduled for trial Sept. 3, but a plea agreement is likely that will see her sentenced to life in prison with a chance for parole after 30 years.

She is charged with plotting with her foster father to kill Lisa Knoefel at their suburban Cleveland home. A Lake County jury convicted 43-year-old Kevin Knoefel last month of conspiracy to commit aggravated murder in his wife’s death. His sentencing is Aug. 6.”

Bond bumped for Ohio teen in foster mom’s slaying[San Francisco Gate 7/22/14 ]

Update 8:”A  judge has sentenced a northeast Ohio man to life in prison for a conspiracy that led to his foster daughter allegedly stabbing his wife to death.

A jury in June found 44-year-old Kevin Knoefel

guilty of conspiracy and complicity to commit murder in his wife’s death, as well as sexual battery for having had a sexual relationship with now 19-year-old Sabrina Zunich (zoo-NIK’).

She is charged with aggravated murder in Lisa Knoefel’s 2012 stabbing death. She testified against her foster father as part of a plea deal.

Kevin Knoefel got life with parole possibility after 30 years on Wednesday in a Lake County courtroom.

Knoefel, who plans to appeal, contended that Zunich was mentally ill and acted alone.”

Man gets life after wife’s stabbing death[AZ Central 8/6/14 by Associated Press]

Update 9:”In Ohio, a teenage female, age 19, pleaded guilty to the murder of her foster mother, as part of an alleged scheme that stated she was romantically linked with her foster father. Sabrina Zunich pleaded guilty to aggravated murder in Lake County on Thursday afternoon, and could possibly be given the sentence of life in prison later next month.

Zunich gave evidence against Kevin Knoefel earlier in the year as a portion of her plea agreement. Knoefel was found guilty of conspiracy to commit aggravated murder because he allegedly convinced Zunich to kill his wife Lisa Knoefel, and sexual battery for having had sexual intercourse with the teen girl.

Zunich’s lawyer was asking for the option of parole after the teenager had served 20 years. He stated that his client was regretful and that she would have never killed Lisa Knoefel if it had not been for the power of her foster father over her.

Zunich sobbed before she admitted to fatally stabbing her foster mother nearly 180 times.

The teenager was only 17 when she murdered Lisa Knoefel, age 41, as the social worker slept in her Willoughby Hills bedroom on Chagrin Drive. The date was Nov. 16, 2012. Zunich claims that she and her foster father, Kevin Knoefel, were in on the crime together, having planned it as a pair, stated prosecuting attorney Jamie Eck.

Zunich pleaded to being guilty on Aug. 28 to one count of aggravated murder. She was crying as she spoke to Judge Richard L. Collins Jr. and said that she had stabbed her foster mother to death with the collaboration of Kevin Knoefel.

The 19 year old now could face the maximum sentence of spending the rest of her life in an Ohio prison without any parole when she is penalized on Sept. 29. The least punishment she could face would be the sentence of 20 years to life, but trial prosecutors have suggested if she receives life with parole eligibility, let it be in 30 years instead of the lesser amount.

The teen girl’s foster father, Kevin Knoefel, age 43, was penalized earlier this month. He was given life in prison but will be eligible to receive parole in just over 40 years from now. Knoefel was found allegedly guilty by a jury of each of the 11 counts that were against him. The charges were three counts of complicity to aggravated murder, two counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated murder and six counts of sexual battery.

Ohio Prosecutors explained in court that Knoefel and Zunich had started a sexual affair when she was still considered a minor and that he guaranteed her they would spend their lives together with the murder victim’s life insurance money. They also stated that Knoefel supposedly trained Zunich on how to stab Lisa Knoefel in order to cause the highest amount of internal damage.

The indictment stated that Knoefel was accused of having sex with Zunich on the exact day of the murder, in addition to other times both before and after the killing of his wife. It is believed that Knoefel allegedly planned the killing of his wife sometime starting in Aug. 2012 with the teenager.

Zunich stated that she was presently taking prescription medication for anxiety, bipolar, PTSD and also ADHD. The teenager’s $5 million in bond has been rescinded.

Kevin Knoefel continues to maintain his innocence and is attempting to appeal his convictions. He states that Zunich acted by herself in the murder.

In northeast Ohio, Sabrina Zunich pleaded guilty to the murder of her foster mother as part of an alleged scheme that declared she was in a romantic relationship with her foster father.”

In Ohio, Teenage Female Pleads Guilty to Murder of Foster Mother

[Guardian Liberty Voice 8/28/14 by Kimberly Ruble]

Update 10:“A devious foster daughter who slashed her foster mother 178 times amid a torrid affair with her foster father was sentenced to life in prison by an Ohio judge Monday.

Sabrina Zunich, 19, sobbed inside a Lake County courtroom as the judge handed down the sentence, with a possibility for parole after 30 years served, for the November 2012 murder of 41-year-old Lisa Knoefel.

The victim’s husband, Kevin Knoefel, was convicted in June of telling his foster daughter — and lover — to commit the crime so he could cash in an $800,000 life insurance policy.

Zunich, 17 years old at the time of the crime, testified against her former flame, who was also sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years served.

Judge Richard Collins Jr. said Monday he would have sentenced the teen to life without parole if she had not cooperated with the prosecution and helped get the conviction of her foster dad, who feared his wife would leave him and take custody of their 3-year-old child.

The gruesome, shocking, revolting nature of this crime ranks among the worst I have seen in my many years on this bench,” the judge said in video taken by WKYC-TV.

Kevin Knoefel was driving a truck from Michigan to Ohio when Zunich carried out the grisly crime two years ago.

The coward gave the teen a tutorial on how to stab his wife, providing pointers on ways to inflict the maximum amount of damage.

The 3-year-old hid in the bedroom closet as Zunich carried out the disturbing deed at their Willoughby Hills home, slashing the sleeping woman 178 times with a 10-inch blade.

Knoefel told the girl to make it look like a burglary, and if caught

to “say she did not remember what happened or would claim insanity,” WEWS-TV reported.

The teen was caught and arrested immediately after the killing and by May 2013, she implicated Knoefel in the murder. He was arrested in August 2013.

“Lisa did not deserve what happened to her,” Zunich said Monday as she wiped tears from her eyes, video from WKYC shows.”

Teen who killed Ohio foster mom after sexual affair with foster dad gets life in prison[Ny Daily News 9/29/14 by Sasha Goldstein]

Update 11:“An Ohio judge has awarded $6.2 million in damages for two girls who saw their mother fatally stabbed by their teenage foster sister, who had a sexual relationship with the victim’s husband.

The News-Herald in Willoughby (http://bit.ly/2lstwNQ ) reports a Lake County judge made judgments of $5 million in damages against the attacker, Sabrina Zunich (zoo-NIK’), and $1.2 million against the man, Kevin Knoefel (kuh-NA’-ful).

Authorities alleged Knoefel persuaded his foster daughter to kill his 41-year-old wife in 2012 so he could collect life insurance money.

The now 22-year-old Zunich is serving 30 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated murder and testifying against her foster father.

Knoefel was convicted of complicity and sexual battery charges and sentenced to life in prison. He argued that Zunich acted alone.”

Girls awarded $6.2M over mom’s stabbing by foster sister [WTOL 2/9/17 y AP]