An Omaha woman displayed erratic behavior, including chasing a man around her house with a Taser, before she fatally stabbed a teen girl with a kitchen knife earlier this year, a detective testified on Monday.
Kianna Opal, 18, appeared in court for a preliminary hearing Monday. She will stand trial on charges of first-degree murder and use of a weapon to commit a felony for the May stabbing death of 17-year-old Ezra Sinkiawic.
Opal
Witness interviews and doorbell camera footage revealed the following, according to Omaha Police Department Detective Cortes Clark:
On May 11, Opal and two friends went to the Cinco de Mayo festival in the early evening. After they found it to be too crowded, they decided to go back to Opal’s home to have a small get-together.
Opal shared the home near 53rd and Spaulding Streets with two roommates, both of whom were home at the time. Six other people — some friends of Opal and others who were friends of friends — showed up at the home at some point in the evening or early on the morning of May 12.
Among them was Sinkiawic, who Clark said met Opal a night or two prior to the gathering. Clark said he didn’t know exactly what time Sinkiawic arrived.
Throughout the evening, Opal and a male friend had been arguing because he described Opal as acting “erratic” and “like a child,” Clark said. The friend later told detectives Opal had been hitting and kicking him, and they got into a verbal disagreement about her behavior.
During this disagreement, according to Clark, Opal retrieved a Taser and began chasing the man around her home with the Taser. She was eventually tackled and disarmed.
Clark said Opal became more erratic after the Taser was taken from her, and began telling everyone to leave the house, to which they obliged. It was about 3 a.m. on May 12 when people began leaving the home.
Ezra Sinkiawic prepares to be baptized as a Catholic in Dowd Chapel at Boys Town last year. A funeral Mass for her will be held Monday at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church in Omaha.
Shortly after they left, Sinkiawic and others in her group realized they had left some of their belongings inside Opal’s home. Sinkiawic and two others went back to the door and were let in by Opal’s roommate.
Opal, who was in her basement bedroom, heard people reenter and came upstairs. Despite one of Opal’s roommates telling detectives they hid the kitchen knives from Opal after a previous incident, she found a knife and began threatening the group.
The two other people who reentered the house with Sinkiawic “immediately ran outside” upon seeing the knife, Clark said. Opal charged at Sinkiawic and stabbed her in the chest. The stabbing was witnessed by Opal’s roommate.
“(The roommate) immediately thinks (Sinkiawic) is likely going to die because of how vicious the stab was,” Clark said.
Despite her fatal injuries, Sinkiawic was able to walk out of the house before she collapsed near the curb. She was loaded into a friend’s car and taken to Nebraska Medical Center, where she died.
Opal, who followed Sinkiawic and the others outside of the house while still holding the knife and continuing to yell at them, returned to her home after they drove away and continued to threaten her roommates. The roommates called 911 at 3:08 a.m., and Opal was arrested at the scene.
Only about five minutes elapsed from the time Opal began chasing her friend with the Taser and Sinkiawic’s stabbing, Clark said. Opal appeared engaged during Clark’s testimony, taking notes and sometimes pausing to wipe her eyes.
Opal’s attorney, Ernest Addison, argued the case should be bound over on a lesser charge of second-degree murder or manslaughter, not first-degree murder.
Douglas County Court Judge Sheryl Lohaus found that argument unpersuasive. She found probable cause to believe Opal committed the crimes as charged and sent the case to district court for trial.
Opal will continue to be held in custody without bail.
omaha.com
Kianna Opal, 18, appeared in court for a preliminary hearing Monday. She will stand trial on charges of first-degree murder and use of a weapon to commit a felony for the May stabbing death of 17-year-old Ezra Sinkiawic.
Opal
Witness interviews and doorbell camera footage revealed the following, according to Omaha Police Department Detective Cortes Clark:
On May 11, Opal and two friends went to the Cinco de Mayo festival in the early evening. After they found it to be too crowded, they decided to go back to Opal’s home to have a small get-together.
Opal shared the home near 53rd and Spaulding Streets with two roommates, both of whom were home at the time. Six other people — some friends of Opal and others who were friends of friends — showed up at the home at some point in the evening or early on the morning of May 12.
Among them was Sinkiawic, who Clark said met Opal a night or two prior to the gathering. Clark said he didn’t know exactly what time Sinkiawic arrived.
Throughout the evening, Opal and a male friend had been arguing because he described Opal as acting “erratic” and “like a child,” Clark said. The friend later told detectives Opal had been hitting and kicking him, and they got into a verbal disagreement about her behavior.
During this disagreement, according to Clark, Opal retrieved a Taser and began chasing the man around her home with the Taser. She was eventually tackled and disarmed.
Clark said Opal became more erratic after the Taser was taken from her, and began telling everyone to leave the house, to which they obliged. It was about 3 a.m. on May 12 when people began leaving the home.
Ezra Sinkiawic prepares to be baptized as a Catholic in Dowd Chapel at Boys Town last year. A funeral Mass for her will be held Monday at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church in Omaha.
Shortly after they left, Sinkiawic and others in her group realized they had left some of their belongings inside Opal’s home. Sinkiawic and two others went back to the door and were let in by Opal’s roommate.
Opal, who was in her basement bedroom, heard people reenter and came upstairs. Despite one of Opal’s roommates telling detectives they hid the kitchen knives from Opal after a previous incident, she found a knife and began threatening the group.
The two other people who reentered the house with Sinkiawic “immediately ran outside” upon seeing the knife, Clark said. Opal charged at Sinkiawic and stabbed her in the chest. The stabbing was witnessed by Opal’s roommate.
“(The roommate) immediately thinks (Sinkiawic) is likely going to die because of how vicious the stab was,” Clark said.
Despite her fatal injuries, Sinkiawic was able to walk out of the house before she collapsed near the curb. She was loaded into a friend’s car and taken to Nebraska Medical Center, where she died.
Opal, who followed Sinkiawic and the others outside of the house while still holding the knife and continuing to yell at them, returned to her home after they drove away and continued to threaten her roommates. The roommates called 911 at 3:08 a.m., and Opal was arrested at the scene.
Only about five minutes elapsed from the time Opal began chasing her friend with the Taser and Sinkiawic’s stabbing, Clark said. Opal appeared engaged during Clark’s testimony, taking notes and sometimes pausing to wipe her eyes.
Opal’s attorney, Ernest Addison, argued the case should be bound over on a lesser charge of second-degree murder or manslaughter, not first-degree murder.
Douglas County Court Judge Sheryl Lohaus found that argument unpersuasive. She found probable cause to believe Opal committed the crimes as charged and sent the case to district court for trial.
Opal will continue to be held in custody without bail.
Omaha woman was acting 'erratic' before fatally stabbing 17-year-old with kitchen knife, detective testifies
An Omaha woman displayed erratic behavior, including chasing a man around her house with a taser, before she fatally stabbed a teen girl with a kitchen knife earlier this year,
