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18-year-old Breanna Schneller in Wausau, Wisconsin, was brutally murdered by an unknown invader on May 2, 2009, whilst both her flatmates were away for work.
Later in the day, Schneller's flatmate Hugo found her body lying in a pool of blood and immediately informed the police. Following this, a search for the killer was launched and it eventually turned out to be Raul Ponce-Rocha, a co-worker of Schneller's boyfriend, Sebastian Ramirez.
Investigation Discovery's latest episode, titled Murder in the Heartland, will look into the details of this shocking murder mystery. The episode, which aired on January 9, 2023, at 7 pm, is a part of their Deviant Deeds series.
The synopsis of the episode reads:
"Hugo is hysterical after he finds his brother's girlfriend, Breanna Schneller, beaten and stabbed to death; the brothers appear to be devastated, but the discovery of Breanna's missing phone casts doubt on their alibis."
5 crucial details about Breanna Schneller's murder
1) Raul Ponce-Rocha did not even want to kill her
Raul, assuming that nobody would be in the apartment, broke in. He was planning to steal Breanna's undergarements. He did not plan to kill her, but when he realized that she too was home at the time, he attacked Schneller.
Raul got hold of an iron handle and stabbed Breanna multiple times in various parts of her body.
2) Ponce-Rocha's DNA was found on the iron handle
Ponce-Rocha was in complete denial when he was questioned about the murder, despite the evidence pointing in his direction.
The murder weapon used to attack Breanna also had traces of Ponce-Rocha's DNA. However, he tried to put the blame on one of his co-workers. Luckily for the co-worker, he was in Mexico when the murder was carried out.
3) Ponce-Rocha was sentenced to life in prison
Raul Ponce-Rocha was found guilty and charged with first-degree intentional homicide, burglary with a dangerous weapon, and theft. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole. He is currently serving his sentence at the Waupun Correctional Institution in Waupun, Wisconsin.
4) Sebastian Ramirez distanced himself from the trial
After Ponce-Rocha's conviction, Ramirez completely isolated himself. According to investigators, his girlfriend's murder was hard for him to accept. He was shattered by the demise but had somehow put himself together for the trial. There were events when he had to be calmed down during the hours of questioning.
Ramirez's brother Hugo dealt with the media after Breanna's death. Hugo was also the first person to discover her body lying dead in a pool of blood.
Schneller would share an apartment with Hugo and Ramirez. She was about to get married to Ramirez soon.
5) Ponce-Rocha was missing from work exactly at the time of the murder
Around the time Schneller was murdered, Ponce-Rocha went missing from work. When he was asked about his whereabouts at the time, he said he had gone out to pick one of his friends who lived in the same building as Schneller, Hugo, and Ramirez.
However, the building was five minutes away from his workplace and he was away for around 25 minutes. Ponce-Rocha was unable to account for his absence for 20 more minutes.
