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00:009-1-1, what is your emergency?
00:08Please, don't, don't, don't, don't kill my mom, please!
00:12What is going on, hello?
00:14My mom was a novice.
00:17I'm just trying to hurt my name.
00:19Who had the knife?
00:20My sister.
00:21Where is your sister?
00:23Quick, quick, quick!
00:25I got everyone coming to you, honey, where is your sister?
00:27Oh my God!
00:30Please, no!
00:31In November 2012, 18-year-old Sabrina Zunick fatally stabbed her mother, Lisa Noffel,
00:39nearly 200 times in their Willoughby Hills, Ohio, home.
00:44This incident sent shock across not just the community, but the entire state.
00:51Everyone kept asking, why will she kill her mom?
00:55What could be her reason?
00:56What the detectives discovered during the investigation was unthinkable.
01:02Please stay with us as we break down the entire details of what happened that morning and what led to it.
01:08Sabrina A. Zunick was born on October 27, 1994, just outside of Cleveland, Ohio.
01:34From the moment she entered the world, life had already set her on an uncertain path.
01:40Her parents, Susan Edwards and Mark Zunick, were no strangers to trouble.
01:45Both battled drug and alcohol addiction.
01:48Both had seen the inside of a jail cell more times than she could count.
01:53The kind of parents who were present in name but absent in every way that mattered.
01:58In a home where chaos was the norm, Sabrina learned early how to take care of herself.
02:05Love, if it existed at all, came with conditions, when it wasn't overshadowed by addiction, anger or neglect.
02:13As the years passed, the instability only grew worse.
02:18By the time she was four, she had already been diagnosed with ADHD, a disorder that made it difficult for her to focus or follow rules, something that would later shape the way people saw her.
02:30As she grew older, more diagnoses followed, oppositional defiant disorder, anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder.
02:41But no amount of therapy or medication could give her the one thing she truly needed, a family that wouldn't give up on her.
02:49By fourteen, the state had stepped in.
02:53Her parents' repeated run-ins with the law had made it clear.
02:56Sabrina couldn't stay with them any longer.
03:00And so began the cycle.
03:02One foster home after another.
03:04A new bed, a new family, a new set of rules.
03:08Over and over again.
03:10She tried to adjust.
03:12Tried to fit in.
03:13But with every move came the same familiar feeling.
03:17This wasn't home.
03:19By the time she turned sixteen, she had been placed with multiple foster families,
03:24each one a temporary stop on a road leading nowhere.
03:28Until July 2011, when she was sent to live with Kevin and Lisa Noffel in Willoughby Hills, Ohio.
03:36Kevin was a truck driver, quiet and methodical.
03:39A man who seemed calm, controlled.
03:42The kind of father figure she had never had.
03:46Lisa, forty-one years old, was a social worker for Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services.
03:52A woman who had spent her career helping children just like Sabrina.
03:58She worked long hours, dedicated herself to protecting kids from the very kind of instability Sabrina had lived through.
04:06They had two daughters of their own.
04:08Megan, thirteen, from Lisa's previous marriage.
04:12And Hayley, born in 2009.
04:14A seemingly ordinary family.
04:17A stable home.
04:19The kind of place Sabrina had been waiting for.
04:21For the first time in years, she had a chance at something normal.
04:26A family.
04:28A fresh start.
04:30But what seemed like a safe haven would soon become the most dangerous place she had ever been.
04:35Because dreams don't always last.
04:39And neither did the illusion of safety inside the Cuyahoga home.
04:43When Sabrina Zunick arrived at the Canofel home in July 2011, it was supposed to be the beginning of something better.
04:53For a while, that's exactly what it looked like.
04:56She was now part of a family.
04:59A mother.
05:00A father.
05:01Two foster sisters.
05:02A house that wasn't temporary.
05:04A room that was hers.
05:06A place where she could wake up without wondering where she'd be sent next.
05:10At first, it felt...
05:13normal.
05:14She went to school.
05:16She did her chores.
05:17She played with Megan and Hayley.
05:19The Nofels had rules.
05:21Expectations.
05:22But that was to be expected.
05:24Lisa Nofal, a social worker with years of experience, had taken in foster children before.
05:31She understood what kids like Sabrina needed.
05:33Structure.
05:34Stability.
05:36Order.
05:37But to Sabrina, it felt like something else.
05:40Lisa was strict.
05:42More than strict.
05:43Overbearing.
05:44Critical.
05:44She treated her own daughters differently.
05:47Gave them more freedom.
05:48More love.
05:50Sabrina was the outsider.
05:52The guest in a home that wasn't really hers.
05:55And the more she felt it, the more she resented it.
05:58But Kevin Nofal.
06:00He was different.
06:02He made her feel seen.
06:04It started subtly.
06:06A kind word when Lisa was being too harsh.
06:09A small gift when she was upset.
06:12A reassurance that she belonged.
06:15That he understood her in a way Lisa never could.
06:19Then came the conversations.
06:21At first they were innocent.
06:23Casual.
06:24Late night talks in the kitchen.
06:26Quiet moments in the living room after Lisa had gone to bed.
06:30Discussions about school.
06:32About life.
06:33About the struggles she had faced growing up.
06:36Then the conversations changed.
06:38Became deeper.
06:40More personal.
06:41More intimate.
06:42Kevin listened.
06:44Gave her attention.
06:46Made her feel special.
06:47And then, at some point, something shifted.
06:52Kevin Nofal was no longer just a father figure.
06:56He was something else.
06:57Something no foster father should ever be.
07:00And Sabrina Zunick was no longer just a teenage girl looking for love.
07:05She had become his.
07:07And neither of them could turn back.
07:10By the time Sabrina Zunick turned 17, her life was no longer her own.
07:16She had spent nearly a year under the same roof as Kevin Nofal.
07:20A man who was supposed to be a father figure.
07:24A protector.
07:25Someone who provided stability when she had never known it.
07:29But Kevin had other plans.
07:32His words carefully chosen to make her feel wanted.
07:36Sabrina, young and desperate for affection, didn't see the warning signs.
07:41She saw love.
07:43Kevin was 41 years old, twice her age, married with children.
07:47A man who knew exactly what he was doing.
07:51And Sabrina, still just a teenager, was convinced that what they had was real.
07:57She believed him when he told her she was special.
08:00She believed him when he told her no one else understood him the way she did.
08:05And she believed him when he said they had a future.
08:08A future together.
08:10A future where it would be just the two of them.
08:14But there was one problem.
08:16Lisa.
08:16Lisa Nofal wasn't just his wife.
08:21She was the reason they couldn't be together.
08:23At least, that's what Kevin told her.
08:26She doesn't love you.
08:28She's keeping us apart.
08:31She'll never let us be happy.
08:33It wasn't enough to turn Sabrina against her foster mother.
08:37Kevin needed more.
08:39He needed Sabrina to believe that Lisa was the enemy.
08:41And when he was sure she did, when he knew he had full control over her, he introduced an idea that made her blood run cold.
08:51Lisa is the problem.
08:52If she wasn't here, everything would be different.
08:55At first, Sabrina hesitated.
08:58Murder?
09:00She wasn't a killer.
09:02But Kevin.
09:04Kevin had an answer for everything.
09:06I'll protect you.
09:08You won't get caught.
09:10You'll only do a couple of years.
09:12Then we'll be together.
09:13It was manipulation at its purest form.
09:17And it worked.
09:18Because Sabrina Zunik wasn't just in love with Kevin Canofel.
09:23She trusted him.
09:24And that trust was about to turn deadly.
09:27November 16th, 2012.
09:30The Noffel home was still.
09:34Lisa Noffel lay asleep in her bed, unaware of the horror about to unfold.
09:39The only sound was Sabrina Zunik's unsteady breathing as she gripped a 15-inch serrated knife.
09:45Her hands shook.
09:47Her heart pounded.
09:48Kevin's words echoed in her mind.
09:51Do it.
09:51We'll be free.
09:53She stepped closer.
09:55Lisa stirred, but didn't wake.
09:57Then the blade struck.
10:01The first stab sent a shock through Lisa's body.
10:04She gasped, instinctively reaching for the source of her pain.
10:08But Sabrina didn't stop.
10:09The second stab came harder.
10:11Deeper.
10:12Lisa fought back, grabbing the knife.
10:15Kicking.
10:15Clawing.
10:16Trying to escape.
10:17The room filled with sounds of struggle.
10:20Gasping.
10:21Desperate movements.
10:22Muffled screams.
10:24Lisa, still clinging to life, tried to push Sabrina away.
10:28But Sabrina was in a blind rage, stabbing again and again, slashing, cutting, piercing through flesh.
10:36The sheer force of the attack sent blood spraying across the walls, the bed, the floor.
10:42Nearly 200 stab wounds.
10:44But in the chaos, something else happened.
10:48As Lisa fought, Sabrina lost control of the knife for a moment.
10:52In the frenzy, the blade slipped against her own hands, cutting her fingers.
10:58As she lunged forward, Lisa's nails scratched the back of her neck.
11:02The struggle knocked her off balance, causing her legs to scrape against the bed frame, leaving lacerations above her knees.
11:09By the time Lisa's body stopped moving, Sabrina was covered in blood.
11:15Lisa's and her own.
11:18Then came the scream.
11:20Megan, just 13 years old, stood frozen at the doorway.
11:25She had seen everything.
11:26Her hands trembled as she grabbed the phone, barely able to form the words.
11:309-1-1, what is an emergency?
11:35Please, don't, don't, don't, you're going to kill my mom!
11:38Please!
11:38What is going on, hello?
11:40I'm telling you, my mom was a nod.
11:42Ah!
11:43I'm just trying to hurt my head.
11:46Who had the knife?
11:47My sister.
11:48Where is your sister?
11:49Quick, quick, quick!
11:51I got everyone coming to you, honey, where is your sister?
11:54No!
11:55No!
11:57No!
11:57Lisa's body lay in the bedroom, drenched in blood.
12:03Sabrina stood motionless, the knife still in her hand.
12:07Her clothes, her skin, all stained red.
12:10But she didn't run.
12:12She just stood there.
12:14Like she was waiting for something.
12:16At 3.45am on November 16th, 2012,
12:22Sabrina Zunich sat in an interrogation room at the Willoughby Hills Police Department.
12:26She had been covered in blood when officers arrived.
12:30The knife was still in her hand.
12:33Lisa Knoffel was dead.
12:35But when detectives started asking questions, she had only one answer.
12:40What happened?
12:41I don't remember.
12:44I blacked out.
12:46The detectives exchanged glances.
12:48No one stabs someone nearly 200 times and forgets.
12:52They had seen cases of rage killings before, but this wasn't a moment of lost control.
12:58This was sustained, relentless violence.
13:02Sabrina had fought, slashed, and overpowered Lisa, even as Lisa tried to defend herself.
13:08But she sat there now, exhausted, shaking, claiming she had no memory of it.
13:15The detectives pushed harder.
13:18They went through the details again.
13:20The blood on her clothes.
13:22The knife wounds on her hands and legs.
13:24The look on 13-year-old Megan's face when she found her mother's body.
13:30Still, Sabrina refused to admit what she had done.
13:33Then, they asked the question that changed everything.
13:38Did Kevin tell you to do this?
13:41Silence.
13:42Sabrina's face shifted.
13:44Her breathing changed.
13:46Then, the tears came.
13:48I love him.
13:50It wasn't an answer.
13:52It was a confession in its own way.
13:54A glimpse into the truth.
13:57Kevin Knoffel wasn't just a grieving husband.
13:59He was the reason Lisa Knoffel was dead.
14:03This wasn't just a crime of passion.
14:05This was something else.
14:07And now, Kevin Knoffel was their prime suspect.
14:11When detectives seized Kevin Knoffel's phone, the truth was no longer a question.
14:16It was a fact.
14:18Over 1,500 messages between him and Sabrina Zunik.
14:23Some were romantic.
14:24Some were explicit.
14:25But the most damning?
14:28The ones where Kevin planted the seed of murder.
14:30It was undeniable.
14:33Incriminating.
14:34A carefully orchestrated plan that Sabrina believed would lead to their future together.
14:39But Kevin Knoffel didn't just want Lisa Knoffel dead.
14:42He wanted her life insurance payout.
14:45Nearly $800,000.
14:47Money that would give him a new life.
14:50A new beginning.
14:51With Sabrina.
14:52In August 2014, Sabrina Zunik took the stand.
14:58This time, she didn't black out.
15:00She didn't forget.
15:01She told the jury everything.
15:03The relationship.
15:04The manipulation.
15:06The promises.
15:06But was she a victim or a willing participant?
15:10I'm Knoffel, my foster father.
15:14It was Kevin's idea.
15:17And it was talked about after we were having sexual relations.
15:23And him and Lisa were having problems in marriage.
15:27He wanted to get a divorce.
15:28But Haley, which is a three-year-old daughter of his and her, was in the picture.
15:33And he wanted full custody.
15:36She would get custody or it would be shared.
15:38And he didn't want that happening.
15:40So the alternative was for this to happen.
15:43When was it after you started to live there on a daily basis that your relationship with Kevin changed?
15:50When did the sexual nature start to change?
15:52Um, it all started not with sex, but with massages, because he was a truck driver.
16:01And his legs would cram, so it was inner thigh.
16:04Then it progressively got into sex.
16:09Does he ever tell you, hey, you can't tell anybody about this?
16:13All the time.
16:15Did he say what would happen if you don't?
16:16Then you'd be taken out of my care and I could lose my foster parent license.
16:20What did you say in response to that?
16:21I would never do that.
16:23Okay.
16:24Tell on him.
16:25The jury had to decide.
16:27Kevin Nofel's verdict?
16:29Guilty.
16:30Conspiracy to commit murder.
16:32Sexual battery.
16:34Manipulation.
16:35Life in prison.
16:36Sabrina Zunick's fate?
16:39Guilty.
16:40Aggravated murder.
16:41Life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
16:46Two killers.
16:48Two sentences.
16:48But only one of them had planned it all.
16:53As of now, both Sabrina Zunick and Kevin Nofel remain incarcerated in Ohio correctional facilities.
17:01In the end, no one walked away unscathed.
17:05No one was spared.
17:07A family was shattered.
17:08Lives were destroyed.
17:09And the echoes of a crime so brutal still linger over those who were left behind.
17:16Megan and Hayley Nofel lost their mother.
17:19Megan, just 13 years old at the time, was forced to witness the unthinkable.
17:23She woke up to screams, to chaos, to the sight of her mother being murdered in her own bedroom.
17:31That night, she made a desperate call for help.
17:34One that came too late.
17:36Hayley, only a toddler, would never get to truly know the woman who gave birth to her.
17:41Lisa Canofel was stolen from her daughters, not just by the knife that ended her life,
17:49but by a calculated, manipulative scheme orchestrated by the one person she trusted most, her husband.
17:57They would grow up knowing their mother wasn't taken by accident, not by fate, not by illness, but by betrayal.
18:04By two people who lived under the same roof as them.
18:10Kevin Nofel's plan failed.
18:12He wanted freedom, money, control.
18:15He wanted to eliminate the one person standing in the way of his twisted fantasy.
18:21Lisa's life was worth $800,000 in insurance money to him,
18:25a sum that he believed would secure his future.
18:29But Kevin miscalculated.
18:31He thought Sabrina would take the fall alone.
18:34That her age, her lack of stability, and her desperation to be loved would make her an easy target.
18:41Someone who would commit the crime and carry the full weight of its consequences.
18:46He thought he could walk away.
18:48But when investigators dug deeper, when they read through over 1,500 text messages,
18:55when they uncovered his web of control, manipulation, and grooming,
18:59there was no doubt.
19:01Kevin Nofel was the real mastermind.
19:03Instead of a life of luxury and a fresh start with Sabrina, he got a prison cell and a life sentence.
19:11His lies, his deceit, his grooming, it all led him here, to a future he never planned for.
19:19And then there was Sabrina Zunik.
19:21At just 17 years old, she had no real family, no stability, no guidance.
19:28Her entire life had been shaped by rejection, by temporary homes,
19:32by people who came and went without a second thought.
19:35And then Kevin Nofel came along.
19:38She wasn't the first girl to be manipulated by an older man.
19:41She wasn't the first to mistake control for love.
19:45But she was one of the few who paid the ultimate price for it.
19:48She believed in his promises.
19:51She believed they had a future.
19:53She believed that if she just did what he asked,
19:56if she just got rid of Lisa,
19:58everything would be okay.
19:59But it wasn't.
20:02Instead of a new life, she got a life sentence.
20:05When she sat in that courtroom in August 2014,
20:08she didn't fight the charges.
20:10She didn't beg for leniency.
20:13She pleaded guilty to aggravated murder.
20:16The girl who once dreamed of a fresh start
20:18now had a future inside a prison cell.
20:21At 19 years old,
20:23she was handed a life sentence
20:25with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
20:2930 years before she could even hope for another chance.
20:33Was this justice?
20:34Or was Sabrina just another victim
20:36in Kevin Nofel's twisted game?
20:39Or was it all a dangerous illusion,
20:42carefully crafted by a predator
20:44who knew exactly how to target the vulnerable,
20:47the broken,
20:48the ones who wanted to be loved?
20:50Lisa Knofel is gone.
20:52Her daughters, now grown,
20:54must carry the weight of what happened in their home.
20:57Kevin Nofel will likely die in prison.
21:00And Sabrina Zunik,
21:02once a lonely, desperate girl
21:04looking for a place to belong,
21:06will spend at least three decades behind bars
21:09before she ever gets a chance at freedom.
21:12A family was destroyed.
21:14A mother was murdered.
21:15A teenager became a killer.
21:18And all for what?
21:18What do you think?
21:20Was Sabrina truly in love?
21:22Or was she just another pawn
21:24in a predator's hands?
21:26Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
21:29And if you want more deep-dive true crime stories like this,
21:33subscribe to the channel.