A Wausau man who killed a high school teenager in her apartment in 2009 will spend the rest of his life in prison. A judge did not give Raul Ponce-Rocha any chance for release on extended supervision, saying he was a sexual deviant and showed no mercy in killing 18-year-old Breanna Schneller.
Jurors convicted Ponce-Rocha in January of breaking into Schneller’s apartment, stabbing her to death and stealing her cell phone and two pairs of her underwear. The judge said there was no justification for his actions and that Ponce-Rocha has never once admitted any culpability.
Schneller’s dad Craig said the sentence helps put to rest the whole “roller coaster ride” the family has been on, although he says will never be able to forgive his daughter’s killer. He says the main goal now is to preserve his daughter’s legacy.
Ponce-Rocha told the Schnellers he was sorry for their loss and prayed for them every day.