On a Friday morning in Somerset, Kentucky, Mark Joseph Stanziano, a 57-year-old male, was fatally shot multiple times as he arrived at his downtown law office. The brazen attack occurred around 8:00 a.m. on June 27, 2014, on the sidewalk directly in front of his office. A Pulaski County sheriff's detective witnessed the shooting and was able to apprehend the gunman at the scene.
The suspect was identified as 40-year-old Clinton D.
Inabnit, a resident of an apartment across the street from Stanziano's office. Inabnit had reportedly been in contact with Stanziano the previous evening and had made prior threats against the attorney. Witnesses stated that Inabnit approached Stanziano and fired seven shots from a 9mm pistol, striking him multiple times in the torso. Emergency services transported Stanziano to Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
In the investigation that followed, it was revealed that Inabnit had a history of mental illness and had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. He told police that he believed the local newspaper had sent him a message to shoot Stanziano and that he was hearing ringing in his ears that he thought would stop if he shot the attorney. Despite Stanziano's widow stating that her husband had tried to help Inabnit on numerous occasions, even offering to pay for mental health treatment, Inabnit claimed he was angry because he believed Stanziano would not help him with a problem.
Clinton D. Inabnit was arrested and charged with murder. He eventually pleaded guilty but mentally ill. In August 2015, a judge sentenced him to 20 years in prison for the ambush slaying of the prominent defense attorney.
