Docs: 16-year-old killed Indiana high school student over her pregnancy

Aaron Trejo had thought about killing his pregnant high school classmate for about a week, according to court documents.

Trejo, 16, told police that he knew Breana Rouhselang, 17, was pregnant and he was "supposed to be the father of the baby," but neither he nor Rouhselang wanted to have the baby, a probable cause affidavit said. He later confessed to killing Rouhselang over the pregnancy, the affidavit said.

"I took action....I took her life," Trejo reportedly told police, according to court documents.

Trejo was charged Monday with murder and feticide in St. Joseph County Superior Court, after Rouhselang's body was found Sunday morning in a trash container behind a restaurant near her home in Mishawaka, a city located about 154 miles north of Indianapolis.

IndyStar is naming Trejo because he is being tried as an adult.

The discovery of Rouhselang's body came after her mother reported her missing early Sunday, St. Joseph County Metro Det. Gery Mullins wrote in the affidavit. The girl's mother told police that her daughter, who was six months pregnant, had gone to talk to the father of her unborn child, Trejo, around 11 p.m. Saturday.

When Rouhselang didn't return after several hours, her mother became concerned. She went to Trejo's home at around 1 a.m. and asked about Rouhselang. Trejo told her that he went to the alley behind the girl's home to talk to her, but she never showed up, according to court documents.

Officers went to the alley and found glasses and a stocking cap, two items that Rouhselang's mother described as her daughter's. The stocking cap appeared to have blood on it.

They soon found Rouhselang's body in a dumpster. A black plastic garbage bag had been placed over her head and torso, according to the affidavit.

When questioned by detectives at the police station, Trejo maintained that he was supposed to meet up with Rouhselang but she never showed, Mullins wrote in the affidavit.

But when Mullins asked about the pregnancy, Trejo acknowledged that they fought over it, the detective said in court documents. Trejo told him Rouhselang waited too long to tell him about the pregnancy to get an abortion, the affidavit stated.

So he "took action," Trejo allegedly said.

Using a knife he brought from home, Trejo stabbed Rouhselang in the heart, the affidavit said. He then put a black plastic bag that he also brought from home over Rouhselang's body, Mullins wrote.

Trejo then put Rouhselang in a dumpster, the affidavit said. He walked to the river and threw her phone and his knife into the water, according to court documents.

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An autopsy found that Rouhselang died from multiple stab wounds, and that a scarf she had been wearing at the time was tied so tightly that she was being strangled before she died, according to the affidavit.

Lt. Alex Arendt told Associated Press on Monday that police arrested a boy who is a member of the Mishawaka High School football team in connection with Rouhselang's death.

In a press release late Monday afternoon, the St. Joseph County prosecutor's office said Trejo has been ordered held without bond at St. Joseph County Jail. He is due in court on Tuesday. 

Court records don't list an attorney for Trejo.

A spokeswoman for Mishawaka Schools told IndyStar that Breana Rouhselang had been a manager for the football team.

Mishawaka Superintendent Dr. A. Dean Speicher said the school community found out about Rouhselang's death as they were setting up for the school's football banquet on Sunday, according to a statement from Meg Sauer, chief communications officer for the school district. 

"Families came to what was supposed to be a celebration and instead (we) learned of this tragic event," Speicher said. 

Counselors were on hand to assist at the high school on Monday. School officials say chaplains from St. Joseph Community Health System were sent to the school to help and will be returning on Tuesday.

"We're just focusing on healing the kids," Sauer said. "Many of them have never suffered a loss, especially like this one."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Call IndyStar reporter Vic Ryckaert at 317-444-2701. Follow him on Twitter: @VicRyc.