In the late spring of 2023, the life of a young, White/Caucasian woman, 25-year-old Sabrina Lee Schnoor, was tragically cut short in Owatonna, Minnesota. Described by her family as a joyful and compassionate free spirit with a goofy, childhood spirit, Sabrina was a mother to a young son and an artistic individual who found joy in nature, music, and creating art. She was born on February 17, 1998, and had attended Owatonna High School.
Her family remembered her as someone who always saw the good in others and loved her son, Daniel, deeply.
On the evening of May 29, 2023, Sabrina met with her 38-year-old ex-boyfriend, Jason Lee Horner, against the advice of her friends. Fearing for her safety due to a history of physical abuse and threats from Horner, Sabrina had told friends she felt she needed a gun for protection because Horner had one. As a precaution, she shared her real-time GPS location with a friend using a mobile app. Her last recorded movement on the app was at 9:56 p.m. that night. The following day, May 30, after not hearing from her, her friends used the location data to find her. They made a grim discovery under an Interstate 35 overpass near a set of railroad tracks. Sabrina was deceased, having suffered a single gunshot wound.
The investigation into what was initially deemed a suspicious death quickly turned into a homicide investigation. An autopsy revealed that Sabrina had died from a single gunshot wound to the head. It also came to light that she had suffered a skull fracture and a brain bleed before the fatal shot. Surveillance footage from near the overpass captured Sabrina and Horner together shortly after 9:30 p.m. on the night of her death. The footage showed Horner shoving her in the head as they walked toward the overpass. Later, he was seen leaving the area alone.
Law enforcement identified Jason Lee Horner as the primary suspect in Sabrina's murder. A search for him ensued, and he was apprehended in the early morning hours of the following Sunday at an apartment in Waseca. Horner was subsequently charged with second-degree murder and illegal possession of a firearm. His criminal history includes prior convictions for domestic assault and burglary. Following his arrest, a search of his residence uncovered the clothes he was seen wearing in the surveillance video, which appeared to have a dark-colored liquid on them.
