LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - The woman accused in the 2021 killing of Carly Schaaf has taken a plea deal, escaping the potential of decades behind bars.

Prosecutors previously charged 29-year-old Rachel Pageler with one count of accessory to first-degree murder. At her hearing Thursday, she pled guilty to one count of accessory to manslaughter and one count of abandoning human skeletal remains.

The combined charges carry a maximum of five years in prison with 30 months post-release supervision and a $20,000 fine.

Her sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 2 at 1:30 p.m.

Pageler and her then-boyfriend, Joesef Barraza, were arrested in January of 2022 in the death of 23-year-old Carly Schaaf. Prosecutors accused Pageler of helping Barraza conceal Schaaf’s body at Pawnee Lake after she was murdered

See Full Page