Prosecutors filed new court papers Thursday in the case of slain nurse Melissa Jubane that say the man accused of kidnapping and murdering her — then abusing her corpse — was “deliberately cruel” to Jubane while carrying out his alleged crimes and can’t be rehabilitated.
In doing so, prosecutors are laying the legal groundwork to potentially tack years onto 27-year-old Bryce Schubert’s possible prison sentence, if he’s found guilty. Oregon law calls for a sentence of life in prison with a 30-year minimum for first-degree murder.
In seeking “sentence enhancement factors” — like a finding that Schubert was “deliberately cruel” — prosecutors could increase the likelihood that Schubert, if convicted, won’t be released after 30 years. For example, legal experts say a judge could add years onto his minimum sentence. Or the state’s parole and post-prison supervision board might be less likely to free him from prison after 30 years.
In this screenshot from a KPTV Fox 12 broadcast, Bryce Johnathan Schubert is seen in Washington County Circuit Court in September 2024.KPTV Channel 12
In its court filing this week, the Washington County District Attorney’s Office gave the court notice that it specifically plans to ask a jury to agree that certain sentencing enhancement factors apply to Schubert’s case. Those factors include “deliberate cruelty to the victim,” that he used a weapon to carry out his alleged crimes and that future efforts to rehabilitate him “will not be successful and there is a need to ensure the security of the public.”
Senior Deputy District Attorney Andrew Freeman filed the notice with the court on Thursday afternoon, though the filing didn’t show up in the state’s electronic case filing system until Friday. A spokesperson for the DA’s office didn’t offer comment on this week’s filing.
Little is known so far about the circumstances in which police and prosecutors allege Schubert killed Jubane, because prosecutors successfully persuaded a judge to seal documents, such as an application for a search warrant and the probable cause affidavit, out of concern publicly releasing the information would compromise their investigation.
Jubane is last believed to have locked the door to her Beaverton apartment shortly before 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 4, but she didn’t show up for work at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center as expected that morning. Her car was still parked in the apartment complex’s garage.
Jubane, 32, had just married her fiancé less than two weeks earlier in Hawaii and had been home for little over a day when she went missing.
Police announced a few days later that they’d found her body and Schubert had been arrested. He has pleaded not guilty. His next court date is scheduled for Nov. 18. No trial date has been set yet.
— Aimee Green covers breaking news and the justice system. Reach her at 503-294-5119, [email protected] or @o_aimee.
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