CLEVELAND — Michael Kuznik and Trina Tomola-Kuznik were murdered in 2017 at Mister Cars, a dealership they ran together in Cleveland’s Collinwood neighborhood.
Their killer, Joseph McAlpin, maintains his innocence, despite more than two-dozen guilty verdicts.
“I do feel sorry for what happened because I know what it feels like," McAlpin said Monday.
His trial is now in the sentencing phase, with McAlpin representing himself and hoping to have his life spared.
He asked the jury to consider how a troubled past could play into the court’s decision. He has an extensive criminal history dating back to 2001, including a nine years prison sentence for a 2008 aggravated robbery.
He called his family to the stand and asked them to recall abuse he suffered in childhood.
He also suggested the trial has made his family closer.
"If this is what it took (to bring family together) I'm willing to take it," McAlpin said.
Prosecutors said they had enough.They did not call any witnesses to the stand, but asked the evidence alone be enough for jurors.
"We didn't object when he walked around the courtroom without restraint and claimed innocence for three weeks in a capital murder trial," assistant prosecuting attorney Christopher Schroeder said.
Even after the judge called a recess for the day, McAlpin was not yet done, begging to not be sent back to the Cuyahoga County Jail.
“I don't feel safe on the 10th floor, with the SRT's, I don't eat half my food ‘cause I’m afraid something has been done to it," he said.
The trial resumes on Thursday morning.