Horner’s defense: Shooting was an accident

After more than a week of jury selection, the murder trial against Jason Lee Horner, 41, began Monday afternoon with opening statements and brief testimony.

Horner has been charged in the shooting death of Sabrina Lee Schnoor, 25, on May 29, 2023, in Owatonna, and has pleaded not guilty to one count each of second-degree murder with intent-not premeditated, as well as a felony count of possessing a firearm after being convicted for a crime of violence.

The final juror in a panel that contains seven men and nine women was chosen Monday morning; four of the 16 will serve as alternates, but all will be in the jury box throughout the trial.

Mary Russell, assistant attorney general for the state, is the lead prosecutor. She is joined by Steele County Attorney Robert Jarrett.

Russell’s opening statement outlined what she called a “difficult, seven-year-long relationship” between Horner and Schnoor.

“Angry and frustrated with Sabrina, the defendant … led her down the railroad tracks in Owatonna,” Russell told the jurors. “Once safely hidden underneath the overpass, the defendant ended their relationship once and for all by intentionally raising a rifle at Sabrina’s mouth and firing once, killing her instantly.”

Schnoor’s friends found her body the night of May 30, 2023, under the Interstate 35 overpass near the Steele County Administration Building on Florence Avenue.

“What law enforcement found was Sabrina’s body, distorted from a gaping wound on her face, next to a bandolier holding ammunition,” Russell said. “What law enforcement didn’t find was a firearm.”

The jury would see surveillance footage from the night of May 29, she said, as well as video of Horner’s interview with law enforcement June 4, 2023, the day after he was arrested.

Also planned: testimony from the medical examiner and Horner’s friends, who allegedly took him to different houses, apartments, “even the woods,” in the days after the murder, Russell said.

Horner is represented by Steven Bergeson, an assistant state public defender for the Minnesota Public Defender’s Office. He is joined by Barry Cattadoris, attorney with the Third Judicial District Public Defender’s Office in Owatonna.

In his opening statement, Cattadoris told jurors Horner and Schnoor were “a couple who was talking about their relationship history and ended up” under the overpass.

“Both parties,” he said, “have a history of methamphetamine abuse.”

Horner’s DNA was reportedly not found on the bandolier; his defense is that the shooting was an accident, “not some planned-out murder the State is alleging,” Cattadoris said.

The first two witnesses called were Serenity Schnoor and Stacia Schnoor, sister and mother of Sabrina Schnoor, respectively.

Owatonna Police Department Officer Anthony Malepsy, the first officer on the scene the night Schnoor’s body was discovered, also testified.

Government buildings were closed Tuesday in observance of Veterans Day. Testimony was to resume Wednesday.