The man accused of killing Beaverton nurse Melissa Jubane won't face trial until September 2027, nearly three years after her death, after a Washington County judge granted the latest in a series of defense delays.
Circuit Court Judge Rebecca Guptill approved a motion Wednesday, Aug. 12, from defense attorneys Jacob G. Houze and Stephen A. Houze to push the trial of Bryce Schubert, 29, from an April 2027 date to Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2027. The father-son legal team cited a conflicting trial in another county, according to KGW. Jury selection is set to begin Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2027.
It marks at least the third time the trial has been postponed since Schubert's arrest in September 2024.
A case sealed from public view
Jubane, 32, was reported missing Sept. 4, 2024, after she failed to show up for her shift at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center. She had recently returned from her wedding and honeymoon in Hawaii and had been home just over a day. Her car was still parked in the garage at the Baseline 158 Apartments in southwest Beaverton.
Her remains were found two days later.
Schubert, who lived across the hall, was arrested. He has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and second-degree abuse of a corpse. His original charge of second-degree murder was later upgraded. Prosecutors are seeking a life sentence and have filed motions to block eligibility for release after 30 years served, The Oregonian reported. Charging documents accuse Schubert of using a weapon and being "deliberately cruel," according to court filings.
Guptill has ordered the probable cause affidavit and a search warrant sealed, and a gag order prevents the Washington County District Attorney's Office from commenting publicly.
Repeated delays
The trial was originally set for Sept. 9, 2025. Defense attorneys first pushed it to March 31, 2026, citing a large volume of evidence and an ongoing state investigation. Then, at a March 13, 2026, hearing, then-defense attorney Gregory B. Scholl asked for another year.
"The caseload that we're contracted to provide by the Oregon Public Defense Commission makes that trial setting impossible," Scholl told the court at that March 2026 hearing, when the trial was moved to April 2027.
In late May, the Houze firm replaced Scholl and co-counsel Shelley Aschenbrenner. The Houzes, based in Portland, are known for handling high-profile criminal cases across Oregon. Their Aug. 12 motion pushed the date five more months.
Community still waiting
Jubane had been a nurse for six years after graduating from the University of Portland in 2018. Friends, fellow nurses and community supporters have gathered at the Washington County Courthouse throughout court proceedings to call for justice.
Organizers with Gabriela Portland have said the community remains "shattered" by her killing and have called for justice for all victims of violence against women, The Oregonian reported in January.
Schubert has been held in the Washington County jail since September 2024. No further hearings between now and the September 2027 trial date have been publicly scheduled.
