A Dakota County grand jury has upgraded the murder charges against two people accused of killing missing University of Minnesota student Anarae Schunk last September. Shavelle Oscar Chavez-Nelson, 32, and Ashley Marie Conrade, 24, were each indicted Tuesday on first-degree murder charges, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Don Cissell Sr

Charges upgraded to 1st degree murder in death of missing student Anarae Schunk

A Dakota County grand jury has upgraded the murder charges against two peopleaccused of killing missing University of Minnesota student Anarae Schunk last September.

Shavelle Oscar Chavez-Nelson, 32, and Ashley Marie Conrade, 24, were each indicted Tuesday on first-degree murder charges, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

The new charges supersede the previous charges of second-degree murder, which were filed against them about a month ago. The first-degree charges mean they’re accused of planning the crime in advance, and face a mandatory sentence of life in prison if convicted, according to the Pioneer Press.

Schunk, 20, of Rosemount, went missing on Sept. 22 after being with Chavez-Nelson and Conrade at a Burnsville bar that night. She had told family and friends that she planned to meet with Chavez-Nelson, who was her ex-boyfriend, to try to recover thousands of dollars she had loaned him.

Schunk was with him and Conrade at the bar when Chavez-Nelson fatally shot a man in the parking lot, according to police. After the shooting, the three went to Conrade’s town home in Rosemount, where authorities say the two suspects stabbed Schunk 22 times with a kitchen knife.

Her unclothed body was dumped by the side of a rural road in Rice County in an attempt to cover up the crime. She was not found until eight days after her death. The charges said her body showed signs of someone having tried to light it on fire and that Schunk’s blood was found on numerous items at Conrade’s home, including a saw, a plastic bin, and clothing.

Chavez-Nelson is incarcerated at the state prison in Stillwater on an unrelated burglary charge. He also faces first- and second-degree murder charges for killing Palagor (Paul) Jobi, 23, in the parking lot of the bar that night, the Star Tribune reports.

Chavez-Nelson will make his first appearance on the new indictment on Thursday. Conrade is in jail on $2 million bail. Her first appearance is Wednesday.