Murder suspect 'deliberately cruel' in Melissa Jubane's final moments, prosecutors say
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – New details in the case of Melissa Jubane, a nurse who was discovered dead two days after she went missing in early September, are shedding light on the man accused of her murder.
Bryce Schubert, 27, had lived in the same Beaverton apartment complex as Jubane at the time of her disappearance and death. He now faces charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping and abuse of a corpse.
One week before her death, Jubane married her longtime partner of 10 years, Bryan Llantero, on Aug. 24 on Oahu in Hawaii, according to KOIN 6 News’ partner station KHON.
After flying back to the mainland, Llantero — an active duty member of the U.S. Navy — reported for work in Washington state and Jubane returned to work at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, Jubane’s mother-in-law said.
Co-workers reported that Jubane was missing shortly after she missed her shift on Wednesday, Sept. 4 — prompting a search that ended the following Friday when her body was found.
So far, most details surrounding the case have remained sealed from the public. However, a recent court document filed by prosecutors on Thursday claimed that Schubert had been “deliberately cruel” in the final moments of Jubane’s life.
According to the document, which listed a series of “sentence enhancement factors,” Schubert used a weapon and “posed a threat of actual violence” which resulted in permanent injury to Jubane prior to her death.
Prosecutors also claim that “the degree of harm or loss attributed to the current crime of conviction was significantly greater than typical for such an offense.”
Additionally, prosecutors said “future efforts to rehabilitate [Schubert] will not be successful and there is a need to ensure the security of the public.”
Whether Jubane and Schubert knew each other is not yet clear.
According to a Providence spokesperson, Schubert was “briefly employed” as a Providence Portland Medical Center nurse from September 2022 to October 2023. However, Schubert was not employed at the Providence location where Jubane had worked.
Stay with KOIN 6 News as we continue to follow this story.