Trial begins in brutal Clairton stabbing death

Nicole Koontz expected her husband to pick her up from work at a Bethel Park bakery on Jan. 21, 2021.

But she hadn’t heard from Anthony Koontz by the end of her shift, so she asked her nephew for a ride.

When Koontz got to their house on Mendelssohn Avenue in Clairton around 1:30 p.m., her husband’s car was gone, and she couldn’t budge the front door to get inside.

“It wouldn’t open,” Koontz testified Monday, crying on the witness stand.

Koontz finally managed to force open the door by a couple of inches.

Inside, lying against the door, was her husband’s body. It was covered in stab wounds. His clothing was soaked in blood.

A police officer who was one of the first to enter the house said it was the worst crime scene he’d ever witnessed.

Allegheny County Police charged Sabr Ellis, 25, with killing Koontz, 55.

Ellis, who had been staying with the Koontzes for nearly a year and had a room in the basement, considered them family, police said.

His homicide trial began Monday before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Thomas E. Flaherty.

Self-defense claim

Ellis, who is representing himself, told the jury in a brief opening statement that he was young at the time and in the fight for his life that day. He urged them to keep an open mind as the trial unfolds.

Investigators said in the criminal complaint against Ellis that they tracked Anthony Koontz’s 2019 white Ford Fusion to Rochester, N.Y., just a few blocks from the home of Ellis’ mother later that day.

When officers seized it, they found a blood-soaked towel on the front passenger seat, the criminal complaint said. Detectives then learned that Ellis had been hospitalized in Rochester with multiple stab wounds.

Ellis told detectives Koontz had stabbed him earlier that day.

“Sabr stated that he was trying to defend himself against Anthony,” the complaint said.

Investigators noted that injuries to Ellis’ hands required stitches. He also had cuts to the back of his neck and on the left side of his leg, the complaint said.

According to the complaint, Ellis claimed Koontz tried to poison him the day before and then attacked him with a kitchen knife that morning.

Ellis told investigators he went to the kitchen, grabbed another knife and used it to defend himself.

“Sabr stated that things got really crazy, so he took Anthony’s car keys off the kitchen table and drove to Rochester, N.Y.,” the complaint said.

Mistrial request

Nicole Koontz, the first witness called to testify in the case, told the jury that when she found her husband’s body, she screamed for help.

Her nephew ran over and called 911.

Throughout a recording of the call, which was played for the jury Monday morning, Nicole Koontz can be heard wailing in the background.

“What am I going to do?” she screamed repeatedly. “What am I going to do without Tony?”

Clairton police Sgt. Fred Hill, who was among the first on the scene, said that when he arrived, the basement door was open.

Hill’s body camera captured him entering the house and announcing that police were inside.

The footage showed lots of blood throughout the home, including in the basement.

The house was in disarray, with overturned furnishings throughout the first floor. Valentine’s Day decorations on the walls and heart-shaped pillows on the couch stood in stark contrast to the blood on the walls, ceiling and floor.

Late on Monday afternoon, a retired Allegheny County homicide detective testified that he collected Ellis’ DNA for testing while Ellis was incarcerated, prompting a request by the defense for a mistrial.

Deputy District Attorney Ryan Kiray suggested that the jury could be instructed to disregard the comment.

Brian Sichko, a lawyer assisting Ellis, countered, saying that referencing Ellis’ incarceration calls into question the defendant’s credibility.

“The jury instructions are bogus,” Sichko said. “It’s doing nothing more that drawing their attention back to it.”

But Kiray said jurors are presumed to follow the court’s instructions.

Flaherty said he would review the request for a mistrial Monday night and rule on the issue Tuesday when court resumes.