Summit County Prosecutors Office
Kendal Scheid, a 23-year-old college student has pleaded guilty to stabbing his roommate to death after an argument about fast food.
Scheid, a 23-year-old student at the University of Akron in Ohio, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of Duncan Unternaher, who was also 23 at the time of his death.
According to reports, Scheid and Unternaher were drunk and got into an argument over the fast food they were eating during December 2016. Scheid stabbed Unternaher at their apartment. Unternaher then passed out, however, it is unclear whether he passed out from intoxication or the wound.
Scheid’s attorney said the stabbing was an ‘unfortunate accident’, adding that Unternaher and Scheid were roommates for two years.
Scheid, 23, of Norwalk, pleaded guilty under an agreement with prosecutors Monday to a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter for his roommate’s death. He was scheduled to go on trial that morning for murder. Family members of both young men cried in Summit County Common Pleas Court during Scheid’s plea, sitting separately in Judge Mary Margaret Rowlands’ courtroom.
Rowlands ordered a pre-sentence investigation and a victim impact statement. One of Unternaher’s UA professors already sent a letter to Rowlands. The judge said she will consider the letter, along with any other information provided before the sentencing.
According to police reports and a 911 call, Scheid and Unternaher were “highly intoxicated” when the quarrel happened. While Scheid attempted to put pressure on the wound, Unternaher fell unconscious. It was unclear whether he passed out because of the wound or because he was intoxicated. The incident was reported by a third roommate in the off-campus apartment.
Unternaher, 23, of Newark, was transported to Summa Akron City Hospital, where he died two days later.
Scheid is free on a $60,000 bond, however, he is being monitored by a GPS tracking device.
Scheid faces up to 11 years in prison. He will be sentenced on December 5. The Akron Beacon-Journal reports that there is no agreed-upon sentence and attorneys for both sides plan to argue for their suggested sentence.
Unternaher was a senior marketing major at the University of Akron. Both men were members of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.
