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.

The stabbing death of 59-year-old Shawn Yim on Wednesday marks the first killing of a King County Metro bus driver on the job in 26 years. Bus operator union leaders say the stabbing is part of a larger pattern of violence toward transit drivers and passengers.