September 2, 2025 • 17 mins
On a snowy December night in 2018, 17-year-old Breana Rouhselang left her Mishawaka, Indiana home to meet a classmate—and never came back. By sunrise, her body was found discarded behind a local restaurant, sending shockwaves through her tight-knit community.
In this episode of Murder U, we follow Breana’s story from her life as a cheerleader and softball player to the final hours before her death, and the troubling signs her classmate Aaron Trejo displayed as investigators unraveled the truth. This devastating case of teen violence raised haunting questions about secrecy, betrayal, and a future stolen before it began.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/murder-u--6152042/support.
In this episode of Murder U, we follow Breana’s story from her life as a cheerleader and softball player to the final hours before her death, and the troubling signs her classmate Aaron Trejo displayed as investigators unraveled the truth. This devastating case of teen violence raised haunting questions about secrecy, betrayal, and a future stolen before it began.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/murder-u--6152042/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
In the early hours of a snowy December morning, a
frantic call came into the Mishawaka Police Department. A high
school senior hadn't come home, she wasn't answering her phone,
and her bed hadn't.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Been slept in.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
At first, it seemed like the kind of thing that
might happen in any town on any weekend, a teenager
sneaking out, maybe staying too long at a party. But
by sunrise police had found blood in the snow and signs.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Of a struggle.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Then they discovered the body of pregnant seventeen year old
Brianna rousselang in a dumpster behind a restaurant. Ab your
be Hey, what's up everyone. I'm your host, Mattie and
this is Murder You. Thanks for listening last week and
for checking out the new Murder You YouTube channel if
(00:49):
you haven't yet, smashed that follow and subscribe button and
share the show with your friends.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
It's the best way to help us reach.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Even more true crime fans. Each week, the cases get darker,
the truths more un A pregnant cheerleader steps out of
her house at midnight and vanishes. The pregnant cheerleader murder
Welcome to Murder You, an Abnormia original. On December eighth,
(01:32):
twenty eighteen, a pregnant high school junior walked out of
her Mishawaka, Indiana home to meet a classmate and never
came back. By sunrise, Branda Russlang was found dead, discarded
like a piece of trash, just blocks from home. The
violence was shocking, but what followed was even harder to comprehend.
(01:53):
As investigators began piecing together her final hours, the evidence led.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
To a suspect no one expected and a.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Motive that left the entire town railing. Mishawaka, Indiana is
the kind of town where people grow up expecting to stay.
Tucked along the banks of the Saint Joseph River just
east of South Bend, It's a working class city with
deep ties to high school football, church communities, and local industry.
(02:22):
Local factories have long turned out rubber goods, automotive parts,
and heavy equipment, while hospitals, schools, and small businesses line
its streets. People here know each other by name. They
pack the stands on Friday nights and hang graduation photos
in restaurant windows. It's the kind of place where you're
always just one degree of separation from everyone else, and
(02:43):
where a tragedy feels personal, even if it didn't happen
to your family. Brianna Russeline grew up here, and by
most accounts, she loved her hometown and the people she
surrounded herself with her biological parents separated when she was
six years old, she lived with her mother, Melissa Wallace,
and remained close to her father, Dave Rouse Alang and
(03:06):
her stepmother Nicole, both of whom were active in her
life and whom she loved deeply. At Mishawaka High School,
Brianna was a popular girl whom everyone genuinely liked. She
was involved in many school activities. She was a cheerleader,
a softball player, and the manager of the football team.
Her teacher saw her as a hard working student. Her
(03:28):
classmates described her as funny, kind and easy to get
along with. She was the sort of person who made
others feel like they mattered. In early twenty eighteen, during
her junior year, Brianna began seeing Aaron Treyhoe, a sixteen
year old football player at the same school. It sounds
like the classic high school relationship, the outgoing cheerleader dating
(03:50):
the star football player. But this wasn't a storybook romance.
They had known each other since elementary school and became
closer during practices and games. Soon they were having sex,
though whether or not they were officially a couple is
anyone's guess. There were no social media posts or public
declarations of love. In the months that followed, Brianna's teachers
(04:14):
noticed she appeared distracted and not her usual upbeat self.
Her grades began to slip. That fall, Brianna found out
she was pregnant. She was just seventeen and still had
another year of high school left. She reportedly didn't tell
many people about the pregnancy, and many of her close
friends weren't even aware that she was seeing Treho. Torn
(04:37):
about how to tell Erin, Brianna put it off. She
was worried about how he would react. By December of
that year, Brianna was six months along. That was past
the twenty two week Indiana state cut off date to
terminate a pregnancy. She couldn't hide her situation much longer.
She told her mother, who offered her full support, About
(04:58):
a week or so before she vanish. Brianna also told
Aaron trey Hooe that she was pregnant.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
He wasn't happy about it.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
What happened next would unravel everything, setting off a chain
of events that no one in Mishawaka was prepared to face. Saturday,
December eighth, twenty eighteen, began like any other winter weekend
in Mishawaka. The town had been hit with snow and
it was a particularly cold day. That night, Brianna Roselange
(05:28):
was home with her mother, Melissa Wallace. Around eleven PM,
she told her mom she was going out to meet
Aaron Treyhoe for a bit.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
They had plenty to discuss.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Melissa awoke at one am, and since something was wrong,
perhaps it was a mother's intuition, she checked her daughter's
room and the rest of the house and discovered Breyanna
hadn't come home.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
She was worried.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Immediately, she called Brianna's phone but got no answer. Concerned,
Melissa drove to Treyhoe's home a few blocks away. The
brooding tea told her he hadn't seen Brianna and that
she hadn't shown up to meet him. He also claimed
he'd lost his phone, which Melissa found odd. Melissa called
Brianna's friends and family, hoping she was just hanging out
(06:12):
with someone else and that she was overreacting. No one
had seen her. At four thirty am, after searching the
neighborhood and still unable to reach her, daughter, Melissa reported
Brianna missing to the Mishawaka Police Department. Officers began canvassing
the area, and their attention quickly turned to the alley
behind her house. There, in the snow, they found a
(06:36):
pair of glasses and a bloody stocking cap. They followed
drops of blood to Pasquale Ruley's restaurant, just blocks from
Breyanna's home. Behind the Italian restaurant, they found Brianna's body.
She had been placed in a black plastic garbage bag
and discarded in a commercial dumpster.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Behind the restaurant.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
An autopsy would later reveal multiple stab wounds, including a
deep wound to the chest that penetrated her heart. Her
scarf had been tied tightly around her neck, and the
coroner noted signs of strangulation. Apparently stabbing her to death
wasn't enough. The strangulation pointed to the intense rage of
(07:17):
the killer. In short, this crime was personal. As news
of Brianna's death reached the community, grief spread quickly through
Mishawaka High School. Counselors and local pastors were brought in
to support students and staff, and school officials chose to
keep the building open to help students process what had
happened together. Investigators meanwhile turned back to the only thing
(07:40):
they knew for sure. Brianna had told her mother she
was going out to meet Aaron Trehoe that night, and
they needed to find the sixteen year old immediately. With
Brianna's body recovered and the crime scene processed, investigators turned
their attention to the last known person to have contact
with her mother had told police Brayanna was meeting with
(08:02):
Treyho that night. Police brought Trayho and his parents to
the station for questioning. When detectives asked the teen what
he knew about Breyanna's disappearance, Treyho claimed he hadn't seen her.
He said he had reached out to her for the
first time in months to ask how she was handling
the pregnancy, and that she had agreed to meet him,
but when he walked to her house, he said she
(08:24):
wasn't there. Traho said he waited a few minutes, sent
her a message, and then left. When she didn't respond.
At that point, he said he went home. Detectives kept pressing.
Treyo claimed neither of them wanted to have the baby,
but insisted he didn't know.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Where she was.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Then investigators told him the physical evidence didn't support his story.
When asked whether the two had fought over the pregnancy,
Treyho reportedly went quiet, then he said one word yes.
According to the affidavit, Treyho told police Breyanna had waited
too long to tell him she was pregnant. By the
time she did, it was too late to terminate the pregnancy,
(09:06):
and he was angry.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
Aaron Treyhoe eventually admitted.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
He had brought a knife from home and stabbed Brayanna
in the chest. He chose that weapon, he said, because
he believed it would kill her quickly. I took action,
he told police. I took her life. Dreo said he
then put her body in a dumpster behind a nearby restaurant.
He had brought a black plastic trash bag from home
(09:31):
and used it to cover her head and upper body,
something he said he had planned in advance. He also
admitted to throwing both the knife and Breyanna's phone into
a nearby river. According to police, Treyho said he had
been planning the murder for about a week. Aaron Treyhoe
was booked and charged with murder. The news of Aaron
Trejo's arrest hit me Shawaka hard. People were stunned, not
(09:54):
just by the brutality of the crime, but by who
had confessed to it. Treyho was a junior on the
football team and was highly regarded by both teachers and students.
He wasn't known to be violent or abusive towards women,
but now police were saying that not only had he
killed Brianna, but he had planned the murder in advance.
(10:15):
As details of the case became public, community members gathered
for vigils and memorials. Brianna's classmates struggled to come to
terms with the loss. Her teachers described her as a
bright and involved student who brought energy to every activity
she participated in. Her violent death left students, parents, and
(10:35):
faculty in shock. Hayley Buckner, a friend and classmate of Brianna,
described the loss. She was like the sun and she
just projected onto everyone and her rays they were so bright.
I mean, it's a darker place without her in the
days that followed, Treho was officially charged with one count
(10:55):
of murder and one count of feticide the unlawful termination
of a pressgnancy. If he had been just a year younger,
he might have faced those charges in juvenile court, but
under Indiana law, anyone sixteen or older charged with murder
is automatically tried as an adult. As Treho sat in custody,
(11:16):
media outlets worldwide picked up the story. People wanted to
understand why this had happened. There were no easy answers.
Trejo's own family struggled to make sense of it. His
aunt later told reporters that he came from a close
knit family, enjoyed playing sports, was fond of video games,
and sometimes kept to himself. He was just your typical kid,
(11:39):
she said. The contrast between that image and the confession
he gave to police was difficult for anyone to reconcile. Meanwhile,
Brianna's loved ones were left to mourn a young woman
whose life had been cut short and an unborn child
who would never be known. She's the nicest, sweetest, most
innocent girl you'd ever meet, Dave Rouslang said of his
(12:03):
beloved daughter. Aaron Trejoe made his first court appearance on
December tenth, twenty eighteen, just one day after his arrest.
He sat quietly as the judge informed him he would
be held without bond. The courtroom was filled with reporters,
stunned community members, and grieving relatives. Cameras weren't allowed, but
(12:23):
those present described the hearing as tense and surreal. A
sixteen year old accused of planning and carrying out a
deadly attack on a classmate and her unborn child in
the weeks that followed, his defense team entered a plea
of not guilty. The court ordered a psychological evaluation, and
both sides began preparing for what many expected to be
(12:45):
a long and emotionally charged trial. Meanwhile, Brianna's family was
left to navigate an unimaginable loss. Her mother, Melissa Wallace,
had spent the early hours of that Sunday morning searching
for her daughter, hoping she'd simply stayed out too late.
Now she was attending court hearings and having to face
(13:06):
the boy her daughter had trusted enough to meet that night.
The case was heading to trial. Treyhoe's confession had answered
the how, but questions still hung in the air. What
had driven him to planet, why hadn't anyone seen it coming?
And what would justice look like for the life he
took and the one that was never born. If Breyanna's
(13:28):
family was hoping a trial would bring answers, what came
next offered little closure. Trehoe initially pleaded not guilty, and
his attorneys requested psychological evaluations. Prosecutors prepared for trial, gathering
forensic evidence, digital records, and interview transcripts. But on October thirtieth,
(13:50):
twenty nineteen, in a move that caught some observers off guard,
Aaron Treyhoe changed his plea. He stood in a courtroom
and pleaded guilty to both charges murder and feticide. The
sentencing hearing was held just over two months later in
January twenty twenty. Treyo sat in silence as members of
(14:11):
Breyanna's family.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Addressed the court.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
Her father, Dave Rousselang, described the pain of losing his
daughter and the grandchild he never got to meet. Brianna's mother,
Melissa Wallace, spoke directly to the court and to Treyhoe.
She talked about the fear and confusion of that night
and how her life had split in two, the one
she had before Brianna left the house and the one
(14:36):
she's had to live with since. When given the chance
to speak, Treho kept his statement brief. There is no
excuse for what I've done, he told the court, Saying
I'm sorry wouldn't be enough, but it's all I can give.
The judge handed down a sentence of sixty five years
in prison, fifty five years for murder, ten more for feticide.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Under Indiana law, Treyo.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Will have to serve at least seventy five percent of
his sentence before he's eligible for release. That means he
will likely remain in prison into his seventies. After hearing
his sentence, Treyo was escorted from the courtroom, leaving behind
two grieving families and the irreversible consequences of what he
had done. Aaron Trejo is now serving his sentence in
(15:24):
an Indiana state prison. He will spend most of his
life behind bars. By the time he's eligible for release,
decades from now, the world will be unrecognizable from the
one he left behind. For Brianna's family, the sentence offered accountability,
but not peace. In interviews after the hearing, they spoke
(15:46):
not just about what was lost, but about everything that
would never come, Brianna's graduation, her first job, her baby's birthdays.
In fact, Brianna had already chosen a name for her daughter.
She was going to call her a or her stepmother.
Nicole later said, we lost both. That's the hardest part.
(16:07):
You didn't just take Briyanna, You took her child. The
tragedy left lasting scars in Mishawaka. At the high school,
tributes were painted on lockers and signs were hung at games,
But over time, the noise around the case faded. What
remained was a quiet respect for a bright light taken
from the world far too soon. Brianna Rousling is remembered
(16:30):
as a kind and thoughtful young woman who brought joy
to the people around her. Though still a child herself,
those who knew her believed she would have been a
loving mother. She never got that chance, and the world
is left to mourn not just what was lost, but
everything that might have been. That's it for this episode,
and please remember if you or someone you know needs help.
(16:54):
Advocates that the National Domestic Violence Hotline are available to
speak confidentially with anyone in the United states dates, who
is experiencing domestic violence, seeking resources or information, or questioning
unhealthy aspects of their relationship. Call one eight hundred seventy
nine nine safe, seven two three, three
In the early hours of a snowy December morning, a
frantic call came into the Mishawaka Police Department. A high
school senior hadn't come home, she wasn't answering her phone,
and her bed hadn't.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Been slept in.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
At first, it seemed like the kind of thing that
might happen in any town on any weekend, a teenager
sneaking out, maybe staying too long at a party. But
by sunrise police had found blood in the snow and signs.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Of a struggle.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Then they discovered the body of pregnant seventeen year old
Brianna rousselang in a dumpster behind a restaurant. Ab your
be Hey, what's up everyone. I'm your host, Mattie and
this is Murder You. Thanks for listening last week and
for checking out the new Murder You YouTube channel if
(00:49):
you haven't yet, smashed that follow and subscribe button and
share the show with your friends.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
It's the best way to help us reach.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Even more true crime fans. Each week, the cases get darker,
the truths more un A pregnant cheerleader steps out of
her house at midnight and vanishes. The pregnant cheerleader murder
Welcome to Murder You, an Abnormia original. On December eighth,
(01:32):
twenty eighteen, a pregnant high school junior walked out of
her Mishawaka, Indiana home to meet a classmate and never
came back. By sunrise, Branda Russlang was found dead, discarded
like a piece of trash, just blocks from home. The
violence was shocking, but what followed was even harder to comprehend.
(01:53):
As investigators began piecing together her final hours, the evidence led.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
To a suspect no one expected and a.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Motive that left the entire town railing. Mishawaka, Indiana is
the kind of town where people grow up expecting to stay.
Tucked along the banks of the Saint Joseph River just
east of South Bend, It's a working class city with
deep ties to high school football, church communities, and local industry.
(02:22):
Local factories have long turned out rubber goods, automotive parts,
and heavy equipment, while hospitals, schools, and small businesses line
its streets. People here know each other by name. They
pack the stands on Friday nights and hang graduation photos
in restaurant windows. It's the kind of place where you're
always just one degree of separation from everyone else, and
(02:43):
where a tragedy feels personal, even if it didn't happen
to your family. Brianna Russeline grew up here, and by
most accounts, she loved her hometown and the people she
surrounded herself with her biological parents separated when she was
six years old, she lived with her mother, Melissa Wallace,
and remained close to her father, Dave Rouse Alang and
(03:06):
her stepmother Nicole, both of whom were active in her
life and whom she loved deeply. At Mishawaka High School,
Brianna was a popular girl whom everyone genuinely liked. She
was involved in many school activities. She was a cheerleader,
a softball player, and the manager of the football team.
Her teacher saw her as a hard working student. Her
(03:28):
classmates described her as funny, kind and easy to get
along with. She was the sort of person who made
others feel like they mattered. In early twenty eighteen, during
her junior year, Brianna began seeing Aaron Treyhoe, a sixteen
year old football player at the same school. It sounds
like the classic high school relationship, the outgoing cheerleader dating
(03:50):
the star football player. But this wasn't a storybook romance.
They had known each other since elementary school and became
closer during practices and games. Soon they were having sex,
though whether or not they were officially a couple is
anyone's guess. There were no social media posts or public
declarations of love. In the months that followed, Brianna's teachers
(04:14):
noticed she appeared distracted and not her usual upbeat self.
Her grades began to slip. That fall, Brianna found out
she was pregnant. She was just seventeen and still had
another year of high school left. She reportedly didn't tell
many people about the pregnancy, and many of her close
friends weren't even aware that she was seeing Treho. Torn
(04:37):
about how to tell Erin, Brianna put it off. She
was worried about how he would react. By December of
that year, Brianna was six months along. That was past
the twenty two week Indiana state cut off date to
terminate a pregnancy. She couldn't hide her situation much longer.
She told her mother, who offered her full support, About
(04:58):
a week or so before she vanish. Brianna also told
Aaron trey Hooe that she was pregnant.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
He wasn't happy about it.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
What happened next would unravel everything, setting off a chain
of events that no one in Mishawaka was prepared to face. Saturday,
December eighth, twenty eighteen, began like any other winter weekend
in Mishawaka. The town had been hit with snow and
it was a particularly cold day. That night, Brianna Roselange
(05:28):
was home with her mother, Melissa Wallace. Around eleven PM,
she told her mom she was going out to meet
Aaron Treyhoe for a bit.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
They had plenty to discuss.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Melissa awoke at one am, and since something was wrong,
perhaps it was a mother's intuition, she checked her daughter's
room and the rest of the house and discovered Breyanna
hadn't come home.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
She was worried.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Immediately, she called Brianna's phone but got no answer. Concerned,
Melissa drove to Treyhoe's home a few blocks away. The
brooding tea told her he hadn't seen Brianna and that
she hadn't shown up to meet him. He also claimed
he'd lost his phone, which Melissa found odd. Melissa called
Brianna's friends and family, hoping she was just hanging out
(06:12):
with someone else and that she was overreacting. No one
had seen her. At four thirty am, after searching the
neighborhood and still unable to reach her, daughter, Melissa reported
Brianna missing to the Mishawaka Police Department. Officers began canvassing
the area, and their attention quickly turned to the alley
behind her house. There, in the snow, they found a
(06:36):
pair of glasses and a bloody stocking cap. They followed
drops of blood to Pasquale Ruley's restaurant, just blocks from
Breyanna's home. Behind the Italian restaurant, they found Brianna's body.
She had been placed in a black plastic garbage bag
and discarded in a commercial dumpster.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Behind the restaurant.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
An autopsy would later reveal multiple stab wounds, including a
deep wound to the chest that penetrated her heart. Her
scarf had been tied tightly around her neck, and the
coroner noted signs of strangulation. Apparently stabbing her to death
wasn't enough. The strangulation pointed to the intense rage of
(07:17):
the killer. In short, this crime was personal. As news
of Brianna's death reached the community, grief spread quickly through
Mishawaka High School. Counselors and local pastors were brought in
to support students and staff, and school officials chose to
keep the building open to help students process what had
happened together. Investigators meanwhile turned back to the only thing
(07:40):
they knew for sure. Brianna had told her mother she
was going out to meet Aaron Trehoe that night, and
they needed to find the sixteen year old immediately. With
Brianna's body recovered and the crime scene processed, investigators turned
their attention to the last known person to have contact
with her mother had told police Brayanna was meeting with
(08:02):
Treyho that night. Police brought Trayho and his parents to
the station for questioning. When detectives asked the teen what
he knew about Breyanna's disappearance, Treyho claimed he hadn't seen her.
He said he had reached out to her for the
first time in months to ask how she was handling
the pregnancy, and that she had agreed to meet him,
but when he walked to her house, he said she
(08:24):
wasn't there. Traho said he waited a few minutes, sent
her a message, and then left. When she didn't respond.
At that point, he said he went home. Detectives kept pressing.
Treyo claimed neither of them wanted to have the baby,
but insisted he didn't know.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Where she was.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Then investigators told him the physical evidence didn't support his story.
When asked whether the two had fought over the pregnancy,
Treyho reportedly went quiet, then he said one word yes.
According to the affidavit, Treyho told police Breyanna had waited
too long to tell him she was pregnant. By the
time she did, it was too late to terminate the pregnancy,
(09:06):
and he was angry.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
Aaron Treyhoe eventually admitted.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
He had brought a knife from home and stabbed Brayanna
in the chest. He chose that weapon, he said, because
he believed it would kill her quickly. I took action,
he told police. I took her life. Dreo said he
then put her body in a dumpster behind a nearby restaurant.
He had brought a black plastic trash bag from home
(09:31):
and used it to cover her head and upper body,
something he said he had planned in advance. He also
admitted to throwing both the knife and Breyanna's phone into
a nearby river. According to police, Treyho said he had
been planning the murder for about a week. Aaron Treyhoe
was booked and charged with murder. The news of Aaron
Trejo's arrest hit me Shawaka hard. People were stunned, not
(09:54):
just by the brutality of the crime, but by who
had confessed to it. Treyho was a junior on the
football team and was highly regarded by both teachers and students.
He wasn't known to be violent or abusive towards women,
but now police were saying that not only had he
killed Brianna, but he had planned the murder in advance.
(10:15):
As details of the case became public, community members gathered
for vigils and memorials. Brianna's classmates struggled to come to
terms with the loss. Her teachers described her as a
bright and involved student who brought energy to every activity
she participated in. Her violent death left students, parents, and
(10:35):
faculty in shock. Hayley Buckner, a friend and classmate of Brianna,
described the loss. She was like the sun and she
just projected onto everyone and her rays they were so bright.
I mean, it's a darker place without her in the
days that followed, Treho was officially charged with one count
(10:55):
of murder and one count of feticide the unlawful termination
of a pressgnancy. If he had been just a year younger,
he might have faced those charges in juvenile court, but
under Indiana law, anyone sixteen or older charged with murder
is automatically tried as an adult. As Treho sat in custody,
(11:16):
media outlets worldwide picked up the story. People wanted to
understand why this had happened. There were no easy answers.
Trejo's own family struggled to make sense of it. His
aunt later told reporters that he came from a close
knit family, enjoyed playing sports, was fond of video games,
and sometimes kept to himself. He was just your typical kid,
(11:39):
she said. The contrast between that image and the confession
he gave to police was difficult for anyone to reconcile. Meanwhile,
Brianna's loved ones were left to mourn a young woman
whose life had been cut short and an unborn child
who would never be known. She's the nicest, sweetest, most
innocent girl you'd ever meet, Dave Rouslang said of his
(12:03):
beloved daughter. Aaron Trejoe made his first court appearance on
December tenth, twenty eighteen, just one day after his arrest.
He sat quietly as the judge informed him he would
be held without bond. The courtroom was filled with reporters,
stunned community members, and grieving relatives. Cameras weren't allowed, but
(12:23):
those present described the hearing as tense and surreal. A
sixteen year old accused of planning and carrying out a
deadly attack on a classmate and her unborn child in
the weeks that followed, his defense team entered a plea
of not guilty. The court ordered a psychological evaluation, and
both sides began preparing for what many expected to be
(12:45):
a long and emotionally charged trial. Meanwhile, Brianna's family was
left to navigate an unimaginable loss. Her mother, Melissa Wallace,
had spent the early hours of that Sunday morning searching
for her daughter, hoping she'd simply stayed out too late.
Now she was attending court hearings and having to face
(13:06):
the boy her daughter had trusted enough to meet that night.
The case was heading to trial. Treyhoe's confession had answered
the how, but questions still hung in the air. What
had driven him to planet, why hadn't anyone seen it coming?
And what would justice look like for the life he
took and the one that was never born. If Breyanna's
(13:28):
family was hoping a trial would bring answers, what came
next offered little closure. Trehoe initially pleaded not guilty, and
his attorneys requested psychological evaluations. Prosecutors prepared for trial, gathering
forensic evidence, digital records, and interview transcripts. But on October thirtieth,
(13:50):
twenty nineteen, in a move that caught some observers off guard,
Aaron Treyhoe changed his plea. He stood in a courtroom
and pleaded guilty to both charges murder and feticide. The
sentencing hearing was held just over two months later in
January twenty twenty. Treyo sat in silence as members of
(14:11):
Breyanna's family.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Addressed the court.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
Her father, Dave Rousselang, described the pain of losing his
daughter and the grandchild he never got to meet. Brianna's mother,
Melissa Wallace, spoke directly to the court and to Treyhoe.
She talked about the fear and confusion of that night
and how her life had split in two, the one
she had before Brianna left the house and the one
(14:36):
she's had to live with since. When given the chance
to speak, Treho kept his statement brief. There is no
excuse for what I've done, he told the court, Saying
I'm sorry wouldn't be enough, but it's all I can give.
The judge handed down a sentence of sixty five years
in prison, fifty five years for murder, ten more for feticide.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Under Indiana law, Treyo.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Will have to serve at least seventy five percent of
his sentence before he's eligible for release. That means he
will likely remain in prison into his seventies. After hearing
his sentence, Treyo was escorted from the courtroom, leaving behind
two grieving families and the irreversible consequences of what he
had done. Aaron Trejo is now serving his sentence in
(15:24):
an Indiana state prison. He will spend most of his
life behind bars. By the time he's eligible for release,
decades from now, the world will be unrecognizable from the
one he left behind. For Brianna's family, the sentence offered accountability,
but not peace. In interviews after the hearing, they spoke
(15:46):
not just about what was lost, but about everything that
would never come, Brianna's graduation, her first job, her baby's birthdays.
In fact, Brianna had already chosen a name for her daughter.
She was going to call her a or her stepmother.
Nicole later said, we lost both. That's the hardest part.
(16:07):
You didn't just take Briyanna, You took her child. The
tragedy left lasting scars in Mishawaka. At the high school,
tributes were painted on lockers and signs were hung at games,
But over time, the noise around the case faded. What
remained was a quiet respect for a bright light taken
from the world far too soon. Brianna Rousling is remembered
(16:30):
as a kind and thoughtful young woman who brought joy
to the people around her. Though still a child herself,
those who knew her believed she would have been a
loving mother. She never got that chance, and the world
is left to mourn not just what was lost, but
everything that might have been. That's it for this episode,
and please remember if you or someone you know needs help.
(16:54):
Advocates that the National Domestic Violence Hotline are available to
speak confidentially with anyone in the United states dates, who
is experiencing domestic violence, seeking resources or information, or questioning
unhealthy aspects of their relationship. Call one eight hundred seventy
nine nine safe, seven two three, three
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