Anarae Schunk was stabbed 22 times in a Rosemount townhouse before her body was taken to a ditch in rural Rice County, according to charges filed Friday in the Dakota County District Court.
Shavelle Chavez-Nelson, also known as Anthony Nelson, and Ashley Conrade are charged with second-degree intentional murder for aiding one another in the University of Minnesota student’s death last September.
Schunk was with Nelson, her ex-boyfriend, the night he allegedly shot and killed Palagor Obang Jobi in the parking lot of Nina’s Bar and Grill in Burnsville. Nelson is facing first degree murder charges for that case and is currently being held in state prison for a conviction unrelated to either Jobi’s or Schunk’s death until 2019.
After the shooting, Nelson, Conrade and Schunk went to Conrade’s Rosemount townhouse. Schunk was repeatedly stabbed with a kitchen knife shortly afterward, according to the complaint. Her body was put in a plastic tub, placed in Conrade’s trunk, and driven to a ditch where someone may have tried to set her on fire.
An autopsy found defensive-type injuries on Schunk’s hands, showing that she “fought for her life,” said Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom at a press conference Friday.
Backstrom said he will convene a grand jury in the near future to file additional charges.
Mariana Schunk, Anarae’s mother, said on Thursday that her family was “satisfied” that both Nelson and Conrade are facing charges and hopes they receive life without parole.
This was the one of the most extensive investigations in Dakota County history, Backstrom said. “From all that I have learned about Anarae Schunk since her disappearance and death, I can tell you that she was a lovely, intelligent and kind-hearted young woman. She may, unfortunately, have been a little too kind-hearted when she began a relationship with a man now charged with her murder.”
Conrade’s bail is set at $2 million without conditions or $750,000 with conditions. Her next court appearance is July 11. Nelson’s next court date is the same date and he will remain in state prison for the unrelated conviction.
Look for more details about the case in Wednesday’s Daily.
