Woman Accused as an Accessory in Lincoln Homicide Case Pleads Not Guilty

Joesef Barraza and Rachel Pageler. (File photos provided by Lincoln Police).

LINCOLN–(KFOR Mar. 12)–One of the people accused in the death of a 23-year-old Lincoln woman has waived her right for arraignment and entered a not guilty plea in Lancaster County District Court on Monday.

Court records say 27-year-old Rachel Pageler is now set to be sentenced in May in federal court on a plea deal related to multiple firearms charges. Pageler and her then-boyfriend, Joesef Barraza, were arrested in January 2022 for the 2021 killing of Carly Schaaf, where prosecutors accuse Pageler of helping Barraza conceal Schaaf’s body at Pawnee Lake after her murder.

Barraza also waived his right to appear for arraignment and pled not guilty in February. He is charged with one count of first-degree murder and three counts of first-degree sexual assault.