Another delay requested for murder trial

The attorney for accused murderer Jason Lee Horner has requested a continuance in the jury trial that is set to begin June 2 in Steele County District Court.

Horner, 40, was charged on that date in 2023 with intentional second-degree murder-not premediated in the death of Sabrina Lee Schnoor, 25. He also faces one count of possession of a firearm/ammo in a crime of violence as a convicted felon.

He is accused of shooting the Faribault woman on May 29, 2023, after arranging to meet her in Owatonna. Schnoor was found dead nearly 24 hours later under the Interstate 35 overpass near Florence Avenue.

An autopsy indicated she’d been shot in the mouth; according to the medical examiner, the bullet cut through her spinal cord, killing her. Schnoor had also sustained a skull fracture and brain bleed before being shot.

But it’s a newly reported autopsy opinion that prompted the motion for a continuance.

An updated statement from the medical examiner noted a “burn-like injury around (Schnoor’s) neck, but was not sure what could have caused that. Looks like something was poured on her skin.”

Defense attorney Barry Cattadoris wrote in his motion that the update, provided May 12, “suggests that the alleged victim’s body, in this expert witness’s opinion, was mutilated by burning after Ms. Schnoor was deceased. This would be evidence that the State could offer to show intent to kill …”

That matters, Cattadoris said, because that could potentially lead to an amended charge of premeditation.

He is seeking the continuation to allow him time to find his own independent expert to address whether the new opinion “regarding non-gunshot burns are scientifically valid.”

In the updated statement, the medical examiner also specifically ruled out suicide in the case.

“The original autopsy report did not offer any information that (the ME) would be offering an expert opinion on whether a suicide did or did not occur,” Cattadoris wrote, again challenging whether the “expert witness evidence is scientifically sound.”

Misleading or incorrect forensic pathology evidence is a leading cause of wrongful convictions, he continued, and “prejudice could easily be shown on appeal if a continuance is not granted.”

Judge Joseph Bueltel took the motion under advisement; a pre-trial hearing is set for May 28.

Horner has been in custody since he was arrested June 4, 2023.

He was considered a suspect soon after Schnoor’s body was found; she had told friends the day before that she was going to visit Horner and wanted to borrow a gun for protection.

The two had previously been in a relationship, and he’d allegedly physically assaulted her in the past.

Surveillance footage from the area confirms the two met up that night and can reportedly be seen going under the overpass together.