Husband Arrested at Gravesite
LFoote1056
May 27, 1999
Paul Hammel-World Herald Staff Writer
Wahoo, Neb. - Just hours after he sat sobbing in the front row at his wife's
funeral, Mark Schnabel was arrested Wednesday afternoon in connection with her
death.
Schnabel was handcuffed in front of family and friends about 3:25 p.m., as a
graveside service for his wife, Sandy, was concluding at a rural cemetery near
Marquette, Neb.
He later was booked on suspicion of murder at the Saunders County Jail in Wahoo
after a 100-mile ride with investigators from the Nebraska State Patrol and
State Fire Marshal's Office. Schnabel still was wearing his suit from the
funeral.
More than 1,000 people attended services Wednesday morning for his wife, a
popular Yutan High School teacher and volleyball coach, at the school gym. The
graveside service followed at 3 p.m. at the Mamre Evangelical Church cemetery
near Marquette.
While a pastor at the church said he was upset that the arrest wasn't postponed
until after mourners could gather with family members at the church, residents
of Yutan expressed relief that some action had been taken in the case.
"Not knowing the unknown has been the worst," said Sandy Cooper, who attends
the same church as the Schnabels. " 'That the truth will be revealed' is how
we've been praying."
After the arrest, authorities were silent on details about the circumstances of
Sandy Schnabel's death. An 8 a.m. court appearance is scheduled today for Mark
Schnabel. Saunders County Attorney Tom Jaudzemis scheduled a press conference
to follow at 10:30 a.m.
The 40-year-old teacher's body was found near her burned-out minivan early
Saturday at her family's farm southwest of Yutan, a community of 1,000 people
about 25 miles west of Omaha.
Investigators said the minivan had left a county road twice and run through a
sprouting cornfield and two barbed-wire fences before crashing into a storage
shed on the farm. A second set of tire tracks was found, leading to speculation
that she had been chased.
Earlier Wednesday, investigators with the State Patrol, Fire Marshal's Office
and Saunders County Sheriff's Office met. They sorted through findings from a
Tuesday night search of the home where Mark and Sandy Schnabel had lived with
their three children, Trevor, 9, Courtney, 6, and Sarah, 4. The couple had been
married since 1986.
Mark Schnabel is a landscape designer who formerly worked for Lanoha Nursery in
suburban Omaha. He recently had started his own landscaping business, a
business that some neighbors said was struggling.
Trees, with roots bagged in burlap, lined the east side of the farmstead. A
wooden jungle gym and a blooming bed of irises stood out front. On the west was
the burned-out heap of the storage building.
After the arrest, Schnabel's attorney, Chuck Forrest of Omaha, said his client
was "distraught and surprised and worried about his three children."
Forrest said he didn't know whether his client would be charged with
first-degree or second-degree murder.
At Wednesday morning's funeral service, Mark Schnabel sat in the front row,
sobbing occasionally while holding his youngest daughter in his lap.
It was a tear-filled service at which speakers emphasized Sandy Schnabel's
strong religious faith and dedication to her students and players. She was a
soloist in the choir at Mead Covenant Church and was active in youth programs.
"The thing that made her such a wonderful person and great coach was her
faith," Cooper said.
About 30 current and former players wore the school colors, red and white, on
school T-shirts and warm-up uniforms.
A fellow Yutan teacher, Kristy Hollenbeck, said Sandy Schnabel was a tough and
demanding coach and teacher who treated everyone fairly and earned respect
because of it.
Sandy Schnabel had been with the Yutan School District for about 12 years,
teaching keyboarding, computer and business classes.
Her volleyball teams qualified for the state tournament seven times. A framed
color poster of her state title team in 1992 dominates the trophy case at Yutan
High. Members of this year's team, which made it to the Class C-2 finals last
fall before losing to Republican Valley, left a "memory chain" of letters,
ribbons and a dollar bill at the funeral.
After his arrest, Mark Schnabel was booked at the Saunders County Jail and then
moved to a state prison facility in the Lincoln area. By then, his funeral
jacket and tie had been removed.
Jack Malicky, chief investigator with the Fire Marshal's Office, said officials
had waited until after the funeral services to make the arrest.
"We could have arrested him first thing (Wednesday) morning," he said.
Mark Schnabel had told authorities that he last saw his wife at 10 p.m. Friday,
when he went to bed. Two passers-by alerted him to the fire about 1 a.m.
Saturday.
Jaudzemis said Wednesday that investigators still were unsure of the
whereabouts of Sandy Schnabel during that three-hour period.
On Wednesday, U.S. flags at the high school and the Yutan Post Office were
flying at half-staff in honor of Schnabel.
Throughout the day, townspeople shook their heads while discussing the
mysterious death of an admired coach that had drawn unwanted and, to some,
overbearing news media attention to their quiet town. Dozens of rumors and
theories circulated. To some, the only important thing was that a friend had
been lost.
"The 'why' at some point is irrelevant," Hollenbeck said. "She's gone. And that
hurts."