CLEVELAND — A man convicted of killing two people in Parma Heights has been sentenced to death.
Thomas Knuff Jr., 44, was found guilty of aggravated murder in June in the stabbing deaths of 50-year-old Regina Capobianco and 65-year-old John Mann back in May of 2017. Knuff had been serving a sentence of more than 15 years in the Lorain Correctional Institution for aggravated robbery and was apparently staying at the home of the victims. Authorities said Capobianco had been his prison pen pal.
A Cuyahoga County jury recommended the death penalty for Knuff last month. Judge Deena R. Calabrese handed down the official sentence Wednesday.
"Thomas Knuff, through his brutal actions, has placed himself on death row," Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley said in a statement. "His denial of any responsibility and complete lack of remorse shows how evil this man truly is."
According to investigators, Knuff stabbed both victims multiple times and hid their bodies inside the home on Nelwood Road. Their bodies were not found until a month later when officials performed a welfare check.