Demanding answers: Rallies continue for Beaverton’s Melissa Jubane

Published 9:49 pm Monday, November 18, 2024

It’s been just over two months since a Beaverton nurse went missing and was found dead shortly after.

Melissa Jubane was reported missing Sept. 4 after she did not report for her shift at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center near West Haven-Sylvan in unincorporated Washington County. Two days later, her neighbor, 27-year-old Bryce Schubert, was arrested and charged with her murder.

The loss rocked the community, and a dedicated group is still gathering to call for action and justice against her alleged murderer.

Rallying from outside the courtroom

It was a standard status hearing Monday, Nov. 18, in Washington County Circuit Court, except for the scene in the hallway.

After Judge Rebecca Guptill’s courtroom reached the 40-person fire marshal capacity, about 30 more people stood in the hallway outside the room, quietly holding signs: “Justice for Melissa Jubane” and “Defend Filipino women.”

The hearing lasted half an hour before Schubert was returned to jail, but shortly after, the crowd from the hallway gathered outside.

A call and response rang through the green space in front of the courthouse: “When women’s rights are under attack, what do we do?”

“Rise up, fight back.”

Calling for accountability outside the courts

The rally was in part organized by Christianne Mae Carrillo, a member of Gabriela Portland, a Filipino women’s group “fighting for the liberation of Filipino women here in Oregon and in the Philippines.”

“Ever since we heard about it, seeing, reading articles, we knew we had to be there to show the connection of gender-based violence and the oppressive nature of our society and how we normalize and tolerate and accept violence against women,” she said.

Jill Mangaliman, a member of Gabriela Seattle, called on the crowd to not give up in fighting for information and a full trial in Jubane’s death.

“We’re demanding answers. We’re demanding justice, and the people will not remain silent. For as long as there is violence against women, … the people will rise up,” they said.

“It should not have to be this way, right? It should be that our people can live without facing violence and exploitation,” Mangaliman continued. “It should be that Melissa should still be here with us today. Do you hear us, Washington County? Do you hear us? Her friends and family are waiting for answers. Her community is demanding justice.”

Other speakers were from organizations including the Northwest Filipino Student Alliance and the International Women’s Alliance.

“I want to remind ourselves, why are we here today? Because in some way, shape or form we all see ourselves in Melissa Jubane,” said an International Women’s Alliance member. “We all see our daughters, our friends, our loved ones in Melissa Jubane. In one way or another, this case hits close to home for all of us because violence against women is so prevalent.”

Unsealing documents

While the criminal case against Schubert plays out, members of the media are intervening to try to find out more.

Reporter Kyle Iboshi with KGW News joined the case to ask the court to unseal any search warrants and the probable cause affidavit against Schubert.

“Sealing the warrants is not justified on the theory that it is necessary to avoid ‘tainting’ the jury pool, for the fact of the defendant’s arrests in connection with the death of Melissa Jubane is already public knowledge, and it is unlikely that public disclosure of the affidavit in support of probable cause and/or search warrant materials will widen the universe of people who are aware of the arrests and the pendency of the charges against the defendants,” the request states.

Guptill denied that request Monday, and any next steps are unclear.

While additional details are sparse, authorities have revealed that Jubane’s neighbor, Schubert, was arrested and charged with her murder after a two-day search when Jubane went missing Sept. 4 from Baseline 158 Apartments in Beaverton. She was reported missing when she didn’t show up for her shift at the hospital. Jubane had been a nurse for six years after graduating from the University of Portland in 2018.

Schubert is also a nurse who worked at a Providence hospital, but the two never worked together. Other details about the case have not been made available.

Schubert originally faced a charge of second degree-murder, but it has since been updated to first-degree murder, according to the DA’s office. He also faces charges for first-degree kidnapping as well and second-degree abuse of a corpse — which includes removing or moving a dead body.

The next status hearing for Schubert is scheduled for Dec. 16 in the Washington County Courthouse. A 12-person jury trial is slated to begin Sept. 9, 2025.