The story of Sabrina Zunich is one fraught with pain and trauma. Did she commit a terrible crime? Yes, there is no question that she did. But it’s hard not to have some compassion for the life that led her to that terrible moment.
She was sent to the absolute worst place for her. Kevin hijacked her future.
Charles Grieshammer, Lake County Ohio public defender of Sabrina Zunich
the crime
On November 16, 2012, nineteen-year-old Sabrina Zunich slashed her foster mother, Lisa Knoefel, to death. Later, it would be discovered that Zunich stabbed her 178 times, a clear case of overkill.
Lisa Knoefel’s two daughters, Megan (13) and Hayley (3), were in the house. Megan heard her mother’s screams aand she found her foster sister attacking Lisa. She begged Zunich to stop, finally calling 911. During the attack, Hayley was hiding in the closet in the very room in which her mother died.[1]Alessandrya, Emmalina. “Sabrina Zunich, The Girl Who Stabbed Her Foster Mother 178 Times.” Medium, Medium, … Continue reading
about Sabrina Zunich
Zunich was born on October 27, 1994 in Ohio. She was abandoned by her parents at a young age, due to their repeated drug and alcohol abuse and criminal activity. Friends of the family have said it wasn’t unusual for her parents to put vodka in Zunich’s bottle, in an effort to put her to sleep, to keep her quiet. She was given to her grandmother, with whom she lived for several years.
When she was only four, she was diagnosed with ADD/ADHD. Later, she was also diagnosed with ODD, anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder. Eventually, she became too wild for her grandmother to handle, and Zunich was once again sent away at the age of fourteen.
For the next couple of years, Zunich moved between group and foster homes until July of 2011 when she was finally placed with Lisa Knoefel, a social worker who specialized in sex abuse cases, and her husband Kevin.[2]Smith, Benjamin H. “What You Need To Know About The Sabrina Zunich Case Ahead Of The Premiere Of ‘Snapped: Behind Bars.’” Oxygen Crime News, 9 Feb. 2021, Oxygen, … Continue reading
the love triangle
For a little while, things seemed to be okay with her new foster home. But by December 2011, Zunich’s behavior began to fall into old patterns. She often fought with her foster mother, feeling that she gave preferential treatment to her own daughters.
It was at this point that people began to notice that a relationship began to develop between her foster father, Kevin, and herself. It was noted that it seemed too close, too sexually charged. Zunich has said that the relationship became sexual in the spring of 2012, when she was only 17.
In October of 2012, Zunich reportedly asked her friend, Autum Pavlik, if she knew anyone who would be willing to murder her foster mother. She told her friend that her foster parents were going to divorce but that her foster mother was worth more dead than alive.
Lisa Knoefel had several life insurance policies that totalled closed to $800k. Zunich said that Kevin intended to use it to build a new life with her. According to court documents, Kevin had contacted the social worker assigned to Zunich, informing her that he and his wife were possibly getting divorced. He wanted to know if Zunich would be allowed to stay with him if the separated/divorced.
During the same month, Zunich turned eighteen, at which point she was no longer required to remain in foster care. However, she petitioned the courts to be allowed to stay at least long enough to finish high school, something Lisa Knoefel did not want, having become suspicious of the nature of the relationship between her husband and Zunich.
On November 15, 2012 Kevin reportedly pulled over as he was on his way to the high school, taking Zunich to school. He told Zunich that he’d had a fight with Lisa, telling Zunich that he was going to kill himself if Lisa didn’t die. Zunich, by this time groomed and in love with him, told Kevin she’d kill Lisa herself.
The next day she did exactly that.[3]Smith, Benjamin H. “What You Need To Know About The Sabrina Zunich Case Ahead Of The Premiere Of ‘Snapped: Behind Bars.’” Oxygen Crime News, 9 Feb. 2021, Oxygen, … Continue reading
the “happy” couple
The murder of Lisa Knoefel did not clear the way for Zunich and Kevin Knoefel. When police arrived at the home, they discovered Zunich still holding the knife in her hand, bent by the force of the blows to Lisa Knoefel’s body.
Both police and family friends noted in the aftermath that Kevin Knoefel seemed oddly calm, even strange. As Zunich bided her time in jail, Knoefel collected Lisa’s life insurance and used it to pay off his current home and purchase another in Florida. He also bought cars and flying lessons.
This behavior motivated Zunich to cooperate with authorities. She agreed to testify against him for his role in the murder of his wife. On August 9, 2013, Kevin Knoefel was indicted, charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated murder, three counts of complicity to aggravated murder, and six counts of sexual battery.[4]Smith, Benjamin H. “What You Need To Know About The Sabrina Zunich Case Ahead Of The Premiere Of ‘Snapped: Behind Bars.’” Oxygen Crime News, 9 Feb. 2021, Oxygen, … Continue reading
the aftermath
Knoefel’s trial began in May 2014. On June 11, 2014, after 9.5 hours of deliberation, the jury found him gulty on all counts. In August, he was sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole in thirty years. His first eligibility will occur in 2043 when he is seventy-three.
Sabrina Zunich pled guilty to aggravated murder in August 2014. In September, she too was sentenced to to life in prison, with the possibility of parole in thirty years. She will be eligible for parole in 2042 when she is forty-seven. It is interesting to note that even the judge recognized that Zunich had been groomed and manipulated by Kevin Knoefel, that but for him the tragedy might never happened. But nonetheless, he felt that the awfulness and brutality of the crime still outweighed those factors.[5]Smith, Benjamin H. “What You Need To Know About The Sabrina Zunich Case Ahead Of The Premiere Of ‘Snapped: Behind Bars.’” Oxygen Crime News, 9 Feb. 2021, Oxygen, … Continue reading
what might have been
It is hard not to wonder what might have been had her life played out dinner. What might have been had she not been exposed to drugs, alcohol, and crime so early in life, thanks to her parents? What might have been had she been able to stay with her grandmother, who despite everything, seemed to love her granddaughter? What might have been if she found a loving, caring foster home? What might have been had she not been groomed and manipulated by a predator?
This is something we will never know.
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