On what should have been a day of celebration, his 24th birthday on May 4, 2014, Jason Ryan Muschaweck, a male, vanished from his home in Parkdale, Oregon. The grim discovery was made by his family on May 5th when they went to check on him. They found his house on Clear Creek Road ransacked, and his two-year-old pit bull, Sox, had been shot and stabbed.
Despite the violent scene, Jason was nowhere to be found, sparking a year-long investigation into his disappearance that involved extensive searches, including aerial sweeps of the area.
For over a year, Jason's family and the community were left with agonizing questions. The case broke in June 2015 with the arrest of three brothers who were described as longtime family friends of the Muschawecks. Michael David Schneider, 27, Donald Mathew Schneider, 22, and Peter Damien Schneider, 23, all from Parkdale, were taken into custody. The connection shocked the community, as the Schneiders lived down the street from the victim. Michael and Donald were charged with murder, burglary, theft, unlawful use of a weapon, and abuse of a corpse. The youngest brother, Peter, faced charges of burglary and theft.
The investigation revealed that the motive was connected to the theft of Jason's pistol. Authorities stated that the brothers had stolen the gun and then used it to fatally shoot him. In January 2016, two of the brothers accepted plea deals. Michael Schneider pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Donald Schneider pleaded guilty to manslaughter and burglary, receiving a sentence of 20 years for the former and 19 months for the latter. At the time of their sentencing, Peter Schneider still faced charges related to the incident, including theft, burglary, and animal abuse.
