Families testify in death penalty phase for Pittsburgh man convicted of killing ex-girlfriend
Two fathers offered emotional testimony from the witness stand Tuesday — one still grieving his daughter's murder, the other lamenting his role as an abusive, failed parent.
“I should be the one sitting on trial here,” a sobbing Robert Clemons Jr., 58, testified at the Washington County Courthouse on the first day of the death-penalty phase of his son's trial.
Jurors on Monday found Jordan Clemons, 26, of Mt. Washington guilty of the 2012 killing of his ex-girlfriend, Karissa Kunco, 21. Her naked body was found dumped in a wooded area in Washington County after her throat had been slashed repeatedly.
Clemons could be sentenced to life in prison without parole or death. The same jury that took just more than an hour to find him guilty of first-degree murder will decide his fate.
A couple of jurors wiped their eyes as the victim's parents offered emotional testimony about what their daughter meant to them and how her death has impacted their lives.
Paul Kunco told jurors how his daughter was a runt basketball point guard who outplayed her age and diminutive size.
The two bonded each year over his fantasy teams, even when she was disappointed that he drafted Tom Brady of the New England Patriots as his quarterback one year. She quickly forgave him, however, when he bought her new shoes — she loved Air Jordans — with his league winnings.
“I haven't done another fantasy football draft since I lost my daughter,” Paul Kunco said. “I can't.”
When the family's tradition of spending New Year's Eve together changed as his daughters grew older, Paul Kunco said they both still called him right after midnight. His older daughter, Kayla, called first to wish him a Happy New Year, followed soon by Karissa.
Now after Kayla calls, Paul Kunco said he sits there looking at his cell phone.
“I just sit there with a sick feeling, knowing I'm not getting a second phone call. I'm not getting a text message,” he said through tears. “But I still hold it, hoping, saying, ‘maybe.'”
Kathy Kunco said her daughter's murder broke her will.
“I relive the visions of what she went through every night. I wonder what were her last words. What were her last thoughts,” she said through sobs. “Her body was dragged into the woods as if she were a rag doll. Three-and-a-half years later, I feel as if I am living a horror story. I'm still waiting for someone to wake me up.”
Robert Clemons offered equally emotional testimony in an effort to convince the jury to spare his son's life. He told jurors that he beat his son repeatedly and offered no help as a fatherly role model, calling himself a “whoremonger,” drug addict and alcoholic.
“I failed Jordan. I failed his brother and sister. I failed his mother,” Clemons said. “And I failed the Kunco family.”
The elder Clemons testified about beating his son with a belt when the latter was a boy and later with closed fists when he was a teen.
“It wasn't just about discipline. I took it to another level,” he testified. “I physically abused him. I beat him as if he was a man.”
In addition to claims of childhood abuse, Jordan Clemons' lawyers said they plan to introduce other factors in an effort to spare their client's life. Those include possible brain injuries suffered from playing high school football, the impact of his brother's 2011 suicide and the defendant's substance abuse issues.
“We cannot change anything that has happened, and we cannot detract from the family's loss,” Assistant Public Defender Charles Carpinelli told jurors. “But you have to remember that the death penalty is something we reserve for the worst of the worst.”
Testimony is expected to continue at least through Wednesday.
Jason Cato is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7936 or jcato@tribweb.com.
