17-year-old girl behind murder
Lisa Knopfle, the mother of Megan Sanella, was a social worker. Lisa lost her life in the wake of the murder of her pet daughter at her home in Ohio. Megan is the daughter of Sanella’s first marriage. They married Kevin shortly after the divorce. Lisa also has a child in this relationship. The couple adopts seventeen-year-old Sabrina Zunich after the Kevin-Lisa couple happily returns with their two children. This is when the problems in the family start.
I saw my mother being stabbed
Later investigations revealed that Sabrina had killed Lisa under the influence of Kevin. “That night I heard a dog barking. At the same time, the dog was barking loudly. I wondered what was going on below. When I went downstairs, Sabrina was stabbing my mother. Says Megan.
I was threatened too
He tried to grab Sabrina but to no avail. I immediately went to the room and called the emergency number 911. He was told that his sister was stabbing him and that he would die now. Megan told HLN that she still could not sleep if she remembered things that night. Megan says Sabrina threatened to kill her mother a month before she was killed. She recalls being threatened with a knife while in the kitchen.
Life imprisonment
Sabrina, who was arrested in a murder case, had pleaded guilty in 2014. They were then sentenced to life imprisonment. During the trial, the foster mother revealed in court that Kevin had threatened to kill himself if he did not kill Lisa. The court then found Kevin guilty of murder and conspiracy to commit sexual assault. He was sentenced to a similar sentence.
Problems after adoption
Lisa also works in the Department of Sexual Abuse, which works on child rights and other issues. Her husband Kevin was a truck driver. When Sabrina was 16, the couple adopted the child and moved in with her. Soon after, the foster father and Sabrina started having sex. After this, a plan is hatched to kill Lisa. Sabrina herself revealed that Kevin had instigated the murder. When Sabrina revealed in 2013, six months after the murder, the outside world knew that Kevin and his adopted daughter had been having an affair.
Photo: Willoughby Hills police Department