The man accused of killing a Beaverton nurse this month faces updated charges.
A grand jury on Monday indicted Bryce Johnathan Schubert, 27, on a charge of first-degree murder, up from second-degree. In addition, he still faces charges of first-degree kidnapping and second-degree abuse of corpse in the death of 32-year-old Melissa Jubane, court records show.
Schubert, also a nurse, has been held at Washington County Jail since his arrest Sept. 6. Nearly 50 people packed a small Hillsboro courtroom to hear updates in his case.
Schubert appeared virtually on a television screen and was mainly visible to law enforcement officials, attorneys and those in the front of the courtroom. When Washington County Circuit Judge Rebecca Guptill asked if he was present, Schubert said, “Yes, ma’am.”
His attorney, Gregory Scholl, said Schubert pleads not guilty to all three counts. Guptill also scheduled a status hearing on Oct. 15.
It’s not clear what evidence prosecutors showed the grand jury to charge Schubert with first-degree murder. A person convicted of the offense must be sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 30 years without the possibility of parole.
He was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder, and a probable cause affidavit that may shed light on the accusations against him is still sealed. Oregon law calls for the possibility of a slightly shorter sentence in second-degree murder, life in prison with a minimum of 25 years.
Schubert was a neighbor of Jubane, police said. She had married her fiancé less than two weeks earlier in Hawaii and had been home for little over a day when she went missing.
Jubane’s body was found Sept. 6, two days after she was reported missing after failing to show up for work at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center.
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