Neighbour accused of murdering newly married nurse faces new charges

A neighbor accused of killing newlywed Oregon nurse Melissa Jubane appeared in court for a second time Tuesday to face new charges related to her death.

Bryce Schubert, 27, was charged with first-degree kidnapping and second-degree desecration of a corpse in addition to his second-degree murder charge, KPTV-TV reported.

Jubane, 32, had failed to show up for her morning shift last Wednesday at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, where she worked as a cardiac nurse. Beaverton police conducted a welfare check and declared her missing. Jubane's body was found Friday night, police said Saturday, and an investigation linked her disappearance to Schubert, although police did not provide a specific reason.

Schubert was arraigned on Monday and appeared in court again on Tuesday. His attorney attempted to enter a not guilty plea on his behalf, but Washington County District Judge Elizabeth Lemoine declined. Court rules prohibit pleading to a felony before an indictment has been handed down by a grand jury, The Oregonian explained. He is scheduled to appear in court again on Sept. 16 for a preliminary hearing, according to KATU-TV.

On Monday evening, friends, family, colleagues and well-wishers gathered for a memorial service for Jubane organized by the Oregon Nurses Association, remembering a woman who was “always willing to help and jumped in no matter what was going on,” her friend and colleague Kathy Keane, president of the Oregon Nurses Association, told the Beaverton Valley Times.

Just two weeks earlier, Jubane had married her long-time partner Bryan Llantero in Hawaii, where they met.

“The grief we all feel is deep and the burden of this moment is unbearable,” Jubane’s colleague Kristin Holeso told the Beaverton Valley Times.

“She was the kind of nurse that you bring into the unit at the start of your shift and see that she's on the roster. Then you just breathe a sigh of relief and think, 'We're going to get through this,'” fellow nurse Olivia Fults told KATU. “She had a lot of life left.”

With News Wire Services