Aaron Trejo is behind bars for the murder of a 17-year-old girl, Breana Rouhselang, whose body was found in a dumpster in Mishawaka, Indiana.
Breana was a junior at Mishawaka High School, and she was six months pregnant with a baby girl she was going to name Aurora MacKenzie Rouhselang.
Authorities believe Trejo, then 16, who was also a student and football player at Mishawaka High School, was the father of Breana’s unborn baby.
On the night of Dec. 8, 2018, Breana told her mother that she was going to meet up with Trejo in an alley near their home, according to Indystar.
They were allegedly going to talk about the pregnancy.
Breana’s mother had fallen asleep. When she woke up around 1 a.m., she realized Breana hadn’t made it back home. That’s when she drove to Trejo’s house, which was several blocks away.
Trejo told her he hadn’t seen her because she didn’t meet up with him at the alley like she had said.
At around 4 a.m. on Dec. 9, 2018, Breana was reported missing, which prompted a search by the St. Joseph County Police Department.
Since Trejo was the last person to talk to Breana, officers questioned him, but he said he never saw her that night.
When police officials searched an alley nearby, they found her glasses and a bloody stocking cap in the alley, according to an affidavit.
More blood was found nearby, and it led them to Breana’s body.
She was found dead inside a dumpster behind Pasquale Rulli’s Restaurant in the 400 block of Battell Street, which was about a block away from her home.
A trash bag had been placed over her head and torso.
An autopsy showed that Breana had been stabbed multiple times, and she was also strangled with her scarf.
Law enforcement officers returned to Trejo’s home to pick him up and transport him to the St. Joseph County Metro Homicide Unit for questioning.
He told investigators that “he had reached out to Breana for the first time in months to see how she was doing with the pregnancy,” despite the fact that he didn’t want the baby.
Trejo said he asked her to meet up with him at an alley behind her home. She agreed to meet him there, but he said she never arrived. He waited a few minutes before sending her a text message. When she didn’t reply, he said he went home.
A detective told Trejo that there was physical evidence in the case that wouldn’t corroborate his story. He asked Trejo if he and Breana had a fight that night about her pregnancy.
Trejo said yes before saying, “Breana waited too long” to tell him about the pregnancy. By the time he found out, it was too late to get an abortion, as the state of Indiana prohibits abortion after 22 weeks.
When detectives asked what he did about her waiting too long to get rid of their baby, Trejo confessed to killing Breana.
He said he “took action… I took her life.” after he had been contemplating their murders for a week.
Trejo explained that when he met up with Breana in the alley, they didn’t talk much before he stabbed her in the heart with a knife, which he had brought from his house.
He said he chose to kill her with a knife because he thought she would die faster.
When she fell to the ground, Trejo said he placed a black plastic bag over her head and threw her body in a dumpster behind a restaurant.
He then proceeded to throw her cell phone and the murder weapon into a nearby river. He said he threw it “as far out into the river as he could.”
According to Breana Rouhselang’s obituary, she was “a very kind and compassionate person who was devoted to athletics since she could walk.”
After graduating from high school, she wanted to study athletic training in college.
“Breana always loved spending time with her family and friends, along with her dog Duffy as well,” the obituary continued. “She was anxiously awaiting Christmas, her favorite holiday, as she loved to engage in all the community festivities.”
“She loved decorating the tree and house with her mom and watching all the Christmas movies. She never wanted to miss any family gathering to play games with her little nieces and nephews and adults alike.”
On the morning of Dec. 17, 2018, Breana’s funeral was held at the New Life Baptist Church, located at 11593 McKinley Highway in Osceola. She was buried at the Southlawn Cemetery in South Bend, Indiana.
After Trejo’s confession, he was arrested and charged as an adult with one count of murder and one count of feticide, or the destruction or abortion of a fetus—a Level 3 Felony.
He was booked into the St. Joseph County Jail, where he was held without bond.
On Jan. 7, 2020, Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Hurley sentenced Trejo at the St. Joseph County Courthouse to 65 years in prison.
He received 55 years for the fatal stabbing of Breana Rouhselang and 10 years for killing their unborn baby, ABC 7 Chicago reported.
Hurley told Trejo that he “took her life in one of the most savage and violent manners I have seen in my career… it became apparent you had so many other options.”
“When it comes to a tragedy like this, nothing is fair,” said deputy prosecutor Christopher Fronk. “He deserves more than 65 years.”
According to ABC 57, Breana’s mother said: “I’m glad we got justice for Bre. But no amount of time will replace what he took from me.”
“It’ll never be over. I’m living a nightmare every day. I’m hoping it’ll get easier.”
Just before learning his sentence, Trejo told the judge that “there is no excuse. Sorry won’t be enough. That’s all I can give you right now. That’s it.”