The Supreme Court of Ohio has upheld the death penalty for Thomas E. Knuff Jr., who was convicted of murdering his two housemates in Parma Heights in May 2017. The court dismissed 24 legal arguments presented by Knuff, including a claim that he acted in self-defense when killing one of the victims. Justice Joseph T. Deters wrote for the majority, noting that "the evidence (other than Knuff’s self-serving account) strongly supports the jury's rejection of Knuff’s self-defense claim and its finding that he killed both Mann and Capobianco."
Knuff received the death sentence for two counts of aggravated murder, with additional specifications related to aggravated burglary and kidnapping. Chief Justice Sharon L. Kennedy and Justices Patrick F. Fischer, R. Patrick DeWine, and Melody Stewart joined Justice Deters in the majority opinion.
Justice Michael P. Donnelly concurred with imposing the death penalty but criticized using felony murder specifications based on definitions of burglary and kidnapping, suggesting they are overly broad.
Knuff had been released from prison shortly before moving in with John Mann and Regina Capobianco, whom he later murdered. The bodies were discovered weeks after their deaths, concealed in trash bags within Mann's home.
Knuff's appeal challenged the sufficiency of evidence against him, particularly regarding charges of aggravated burglary and kidnapping. However, the court found sufficient evidence to support these convictions.
Justice Donnelly questioned applying burglary and kidnapping as bases for felony murder specifications but agreed with the majority on affirming Knuff's death sentences for the murders.