Killer says he extinguished 'light so bright' in Blawnox love triangle murder

Last year, after Sean Black pointed a gun at his ex-girlfriend’s face, her grandmother called him.

He assured her he wouldn’t have shot Courtney Smith and said he would give the guns to his mother.

He didn’t.

Instead, a month later, Black took his guns and walked into the Blawnox factory where he and Smith worked. Opening fire, he killed her and severely wounded the man she had been dating.

On Tuesday, Black, who once faced the death penalty in the case, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and attempted homicide.

As part of a plea agreement, he will serve 30 to 60 years in state prison.

“I feel as though I caused Courtney’s death,” the grandmother, Cindy Odle, wrote in a victim-impact statement. “And I will have to live with that.”

Black, 44, of Allegheny Township, apologized for what he called his “horrendous actions” that day, including killing the mother of his three sons.

“Now because of me, they neither have a mother or father,” Black said. “I wanted to grow old with her. But I held on too tight to something I should have let go of.

“I cost this world a light so bright.”

The crime

On March 19, 2024, Black went to Tri-Arc Manufacturing Co. on Fountain Street in Blawnox armed with two guns, police said.

He and Smith, 30, of Leechburg, worked at the warehouse, as did the man Smith had begun dating, Daniel Zoelle.

Black and Smith began to argue. He shot her in the back of the head and shot Zoelle multiple times.

Then, according to Allegheny County Assistant District Attorney Alexa Roberts, Black called 911 and reported killing the mother of his children.

He told the operator he hoped Zoelle would die, Roberts said.

When first responders arrived, they found Black kneeling over Smith with the guns on the floor nearby.

He was arrested without incident.

Two months later, District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said his office would seek the death penalty.

Six months later, however, at the request of Smith’s family, prosecutors withdrew the notice to seek capital punishment because they believed it would negatively impact the couple’s children, ages 9, 7 and 4.

“He’s still the boys’ dad,” Odle wrote. “I also still love Sean as a grandson.”

Dedicated father

During Tuesday’s hearing, Black’s loved ones described him as kind, caring and someone who took care of others.

Defense attorney Art Ettinger read a letter to the court from his client’s mother, Robin Bartel. In it, she praised her son for the care he provided to his disabled sister, who has cerebral palsy.

She called him a dedicated father to his three sons, noting he would take off work for each of their birthdays to spend a special day with them.

“He did his best to make the boys feel special,” Bartel wrote. “In my heart, I believe my son has learned a very hard lesson.”

Jeremy Bartel, Black’s stepbrother, said the two men had known each for 35 years.

“He started dating Courtney and was a better man for it,” he told the court.

When the shooting happened, he said, it took him by surprise.

“At the time, I couldn’t fathom what happened,” Jeremy Bartel said. “I’ve never known him to have a reckless streak, let alone a violent one.”

Before sentencing Black, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Bruce Beemer questioned how he became “consumed with jealousy and hatred.

“It’s hard to understand given everything positive you had in the world,” Beemer said. “You were industrious, a caring father, had long-lasting, productive relationships.

“All of that has been shattered.”

‘Sickening decision’

Only Smith’s grandmother submitted a letter on her behalf. Zoelle attended the hearing but asked the prosecutor to read his letter describing the impact the shooting had on him.

Shot multiple times, with injuries to his liver, colon, intestines and arm, he said he spent six weeks in the hospital and months receiving physical therapy.

“Every time I look in the mirror and see the scars, I am reminded,” he wrote. “Hearing the shot that killed Courtney lives with me. The memory of falling to the floor lives with me.”

When he spoke, Black addressed Zoelle directly.

“I am so sorry — sorry for changing your life so drastically,” Black said. “I’m sorry for my sickening decision that morning.

“I expect no sorrow, no sympathy, but I am truly sorry.”