Horner’s trial continued until September

The trial of an Owatonna man accused of killing his former girlfriend has been delayed until fall.

Jason Lee Horner, 40, faces one count each of second-degree intentional murder, not premeditated, and possession of a firearm/ammo after being convicted of a crime of violence.

A jury trial was scheduled to begin Monday.

Horner is accused of shooting Sabrina Lee Schnoor, 25, after arranging to meet her May 29, 2023, in Owatonna. Her body was found the next day under an Interstate 35 overpass near the Steele County Administration Building.

But a new autopsy opinion prompted Horner’s defense attorney to file a motion for a continuance, which Judge Joseph Bueltel granted last week – pushing the trial date out to Sept. 22.

New DNA testing and a more detailed opinion of the path of the bullets that struck Schnoor, Bueltel wrote, “does not give the defense enough time to prepare an adequate defense.”