Insets, left to right: Jason Horner (Owatonna police) and Sabrina Schnoor (GoFundMe). Background: Overpass in Minnesota, where Horner murdered Schnoor (KMSP).
A Minnesota man, aged 41, has been sentenced to prison for the tragic incident of fatally shooting his former girlfriend, using a shotgun, and leaving her body under an overpass.
Jason Lee Horner received an 18-year prison sentence for the murder of 25-year-old Sabrina Lee Schnoor in Owatonna, located approximately 60 miles south of Minneapolis. According to a probable cause affidavit, police responded to a call at around 10 p.m. on May 30, 2023, near the Interstate 35 overpass close to some train tracks, where they discovered Schnoor’s body, the victim of a gunshot wound.
The affidavit detailed the gruesome scene, noting that Schnoor’s jaw was missing, with bone fragments and teeth scattered among the rocks near her, while blood spatter was visible on and around her head.
Horner and Schnoor had previously been in a relationship, which ended due to her allegations of his abusive behavior. Surveillance footage captured them together at a convenience store shortly after 9:30 p.m. on May 29, 2023. After leaving the store, they were seen walking along the train tracks toward the overpass. Horner later returned alone about an hour afterward.
“Sabrina Schnoor spent her last moments with a gun held against her mouth, or worse, inside her mouth,” prosecutors stated in a sentencing memorandum. “Her body was left like trash underneath a dirty overpass while the defendant fled the scene.”
Before meeting Horner, Schnoor had shared her location with friends using the Life360 app, as reported by ABC affiliate KSTP. Concerned friends, unable to reach her, later used the app to locate her body the following day.
Cops obtained an arrest warrant for Horner, who spent about five days on the run before he was arrested and taken to jail, where he”s been ever since. A jury last month convicted Horner of second-degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm.
“Jason Horner’s crimes are shocking and appalling, and my office has been working tirelessly to ensure justice is served here,” said Minnesota Attorney General Ellison whose office prosecuted the case. “We secured Horner’s conviction alongside our partners in law enforcement, and I am glad he has now been sentenced and will serve time for the pain and suffering he caused. I continue to keep Sabrina’s family and friends in my prayers.”
Schnoor’s family members made emotional statements during Monday’s sentencing hearing.
“May you rot in jail,” Robert Wood, Schnoor’s great uncle, testified, according to a courtroom report from local ABC affiliate KAAL. “And I hope you never get out. Because you don’t deserve to. And I hope you rot in hell afterwards.”
Her grandmother, Marni Schnoor, called her granddaughter “a joy.”
“She loved everybody. And she seemed to love everything,” she reportedly said.
