The Murder of Breanna Schneller
For this case I watched an episode of Murder in the Heartland. It’s season 2 episode 3, titled ‘Deviant Deeds.’
A high school senior is found dead in her apartment.
Background
Breanna Schneller
Breanna Schneller was just a month away from graduating from D.C. Everest High School. She was a very good student and all around good person.
Breanna lived in an apartment with her fiance (some reports say boyfriend) Sebastian, and his brother Hugo. All three worked in the restaurant business, Breanna worked as a waitress at a place called El Mezcal.
Breanna was excited for the next steps in her life, until her life was tragically taken away.
The Murder
On May 2, 2009, Hugo left the El Tequila Salsa restaurant where he worked. He arrived home around 1:15pm, and he said he felt like something was wrong as soon as he walked in. His brother’s bedroom door was open, and he saw Breanna laying on the floor with a towel covering her face.
Hugo said he couldn’t call 911, and he ran to a neighbor’s house to ask them to call. The neighbor told the dispatcher that Hugo told her that his brother’s girlfriend was dead. The dispatcher told the neighbor that the police were on the way, and to have Hugo stay there.
When the police arrived, Hugo came out to meet them, and led them to where Breanna was. The apartment was covered in blood, and the blood had started to dry. An iron was found on the floor, it had blood on it. There were two knives found in the bathroom sink. The tip of one of the knives was broken. A shoe impression was found on the bathroom rug.
Breanna had many injuries to her face, neck and torso. The police believed that Breanna knew her killer, and that it was a very personal attack. However, they did look into all theories. The robbery theory was soon ruled out because there was money found all around the apartment. Hugo said that the money was from the tips they would receive since they all worked in restaurants. There was nothing else missing, and there was no forced entry to the apartment.
The Investigation
Hugo and Sebastian were both brought into the police station for questioning, and separated into different rooms.
Meanwhile, Breanna’s family also showed up at the police station after hearing that something happened at Breanna’s apartment complex. Her family was shown pictures of Breanna, and they identified her after seeing a photo of the side of her face. There weren’t many pictures that the police wanted the family to see, due to the horrific wounds she had.
The police asked Sebastian what he did that day. He said he woke up around 9:15am, and had to go to work at 10am. Sebastian said he and Hugo both worked at 10, and he woke him up, and they left. Hugo told the police that he and Sebastian both worked until about 1pm, and that he left just minutes after his brother did.
The police asked the brothers if they would provide their DNA, and let them photograph them for any signs of injuries. They agreed.
The police also checked the restaurant surveillance footage from the restaurant, and their timelines matched the stories they gave.
The Plastic Bag
The police continued their search, and contacted Breanna’s cell phone provider because her phone was missing from the scene. Her family thought that was strange because Breanna always had her phone.
The cell phone company led them to a dumpster behind the El Tequila Salsa restaurant. Inside the dumpster was a plastic to-go bag, in the bag was Breanna’s cell phone, two mismatched gloves and two pairs of Breanna’s underwear.
The police now believed this was a sexually motivated crime. They wanted to speak to other employees from the restaurant, and check the surveillance cameras to see if they could determine who put the bag in the dumpster.
The Kitchen Manager
The police brought many restaurant employees into the station. They were all asked to submit their DNA, and to be searched for any signs of injuries. The DNA swabs were submitted on May 5, just three days after Breanna’s murder.
The police also were looking through the surveillance footage from the restaurant and nearby businesses. On the day of the murder, an employee can be seen leaving the restaurant with the to-go bag. He was identified as Raul Ponce-Rocha, the kitchen manager.
On the day of the murder, Raul left at 10:18am, wearing a brown jacket. He didn’t return until 10:53am, no longer wearing this jacket. He was gone from the restaurant around the time Breanna is believed to have been killed.
The police asked Raul to come in for questioning. They asked him why he left the restaurant that day, and he said it was to pick up someone named Luciano, a dishwasher at the restaurant. Raul said that Luciano lived in the same apartment complex as Hugo, Sebastian and Breanna.
The police asked Raul how long it took for him to pick up Luciano and drive back to the restaurant. He said it took about 20 minutes in total. However, there was a problem with this because there was about 20 minutes that was unaccounted for.
The police asked if they could photograph Raul’s hands. He had several small cuts, that he said he had gotten from sharpening knives at work.
The Mounting Evidence
A search warrant was obtained for Raul’s home, where he lived with his parents and siblings.
In Raul’s bedroom, the police found four pairs of women’s underwear under his box spring, several pornographic videos the brown hooded sweatshirt, and the other glove that matched one found in the to-go back from the dumpster. On the sweatshirt, the police found a long brown hair that was collected and sent in for testing.
Raul Ponce-Rocha was arrested.
Raul Ponce-Rocha
The Trial
In January 2011, Raul went on trial, he pleaded not guilty.
Raul testified, and said that he wasn’t the one to kill Breanna, but knew who did. He said it was another employee from the restaurant named Sergio. Raul said he saw Sergio at the apartment complex on May 2, and that when he left to go back to the restaurant, Breanna was still alive and with Sergio.
The police were able to get into contact with Sergio, who was now in Mexico. Sergio agreed to testify, and said he never saw Raul or Breanna on May 2, 2009. In fact, Sergio was in Mexico, and moved a few weeks before the murder because his dad had gotten sick.
Sergio also gave the police a sample of his DNA, and it didn’t match. You know who’s DNA did match the crime scene: Raul’s. His DNA had been found on the handle of the iron, on the knot on the to-go bag, on the glove that also had Breanna’s blood on it and Breanna’s hair was on Raul’s jacket.
Raul was found guilty of first degree intentional homicide, theft and burglary with a dangerous weapon. He was sentenced to life without parole.
The police say that Raul never intended to kill Breanna, but broke into her apartment to steal her underwear. He then grabbed two kitchen knives and killed her. Breanna’s injuries were so horrific that the police and medical examiner couldn’t count how many injuries she actually had. The tip of the knife was also found in an injury to her face.
Other
Breanna’s dad Craig, speaks around the country about his support of police agencies. It broke my heart in the episode when he talked about losing his faith after his daughter died, and about wanting to be able to forgive this monster. He loved his daughter so much, and is still keeping her memory alive every chance he gets.
Breanna and her dad Craig
FINAL THOUGHTS
This dude is a monster. He killed a teenager over a pair of underwear. This obviously wasn’t his first robbery because we know that other pairs of underwear were found in his room, but killing someone is quite the escalation. He’s also a piece of shit for blaming someone else that wasn’t even in the country during the murder. I hope he thinks about Breanna everyday while he’s rotting in that cell.
Sources
https://www.twincities.com/2011/03/22/wausau-killer-who-stabbed-teen-gets-life/
