Initial inconsistencies in Sitzlack’s story led prosecutors to ask for probable cause for domestic violence murder at a court hearing in 2023. Police carried out “numerous search warrants” over months, but there was not enough evidence to disprove Sitzlack’s self-defense argument, McNerthney said. He was never charged in that case.

A Seattle bus driver was on the phone with 911 during his attack, relaying the location of his suspected killer before being stabbed to death.