Episode 184: Carly Schaaf – Bite-Sized Crime

When a young woman disappears, investigators must follow a trail of digital clues to find her. What happened to Carly Schaaf?

Episode Media

Carly Meree Schaaf *(Lincoln Journal Star)*

Joesef Barraza *(Lincoln Police Department)*

Rachel Pageler *(Lincoln Police Department)*

Episode Sources

Episode Transcript

Welcome back to Bite-Sized Crime. This week I’m bringing you the case of a young woman who was taken from her family far too soon. This episode discusses sensitive topics, so listener discretion is advised.

On the afternoon of May 19, 2021, police in Lincoln, Nebraska, received a call about a missing person. An officer was dispatched to a home on Worthington Avenue near Irvingdale Park. There, Shari Schaaf reported that she hadn’t heard from her daughter – 23-year-old Carly Schaaf – in several days. Shari told the officer that this was very unusual because Carly spoke to someone in the family every day and she would have let them know if she was going out of town or if she needed space. Shari also said that Carly’s purse and laptop were still in the house, and so were Carly’s two dogs, Zeus and Callie. Carly would never leave them behind.

The officer took the report and a missing persons investigation was opened. Detectives started digging into Carly’s life in the hopes of putting together a timeline of her movements in the days before she disappeared.

Carly was born and raised in Lincoln, and had always been a bright, happy girl who loved her family. They described her as adventurous and endlessly curious, always wanting to explore the world around her. She attended Lincoln Southeast High School and had a tight circle of friends. But after graduating in 2016, Carly appeared to be a bit unmoored, and some of the people she was hanging out with didn’t seem to have the best influence on her.

Investigators learned that a few weeks before her disappearance, Carly had gotten into an altercation with another woman at a local strip mall. Carly had been charged with misdemeanor 3rd-degree assault and was scheduled to appear in court on May 18th. According to her mother, Carly hadn’t been seen since the 17th, and when she missed her court date, police issued a warrant for her arrest. Investigators now wondered if Carly had skipped town to avoid facing charges.

However, it wasn’t long before investigators determined that there was much more to Carly’s disappearance. Carly’s boyfriend had been living in the Schaaf home for several months, and he told investigators that on the morning of May 17th, Carly had said she was going for a run with a friend, but he had a feeling that she was actually meeting up with Joesef Barraza, an old friend from high school. Carly’s last Snapchat message had shown her location to be in the vicinity of Barraza’s apartment.

Investigators also learned that just three days earlier, Carly had reported to police that Barraza was harassing her over the phone. It’s unclear what exactly he had been saying or doing, but Carly told police that she just wanted him to leave her alone. So why would she go to his apartment just days later? Had she decided to confront him over the harassing phone calls?

Barraza lived in an apartment on 10th Street with his girlfriend, Rachel Pageler. On May 26th, investigators contacted Rachel and asked her about Carly Schaaf. Rachel said that she and Barraza didn’t hang out with Carly and she had never been to their apartment. On May 27th, investigators tried again, this time showing up at the apartment complex. Barraza would only speak to them through the door, and all he would say was that Carly wasn’t there and he didn’t remember when he last spoke to her. When asked if he would come to the police station for an interview, Barraza refused.

Investigators strongly believed that Joesef Barraza and Rachel Pageler knew more than they were saying, but they didn’t have enough evidence to make an arrest. They had to keep building their case.

On June 3rd, the Lincoln Police Department held a press conference. Carly had been missing for over two weeks, and they needed the public’s help to find her. Carly’s parents stood in front of a crowd of reporters and made a tearful plea. Shari said, “Standing here today, we cannot believe we are faced with this reality. How is it possible we have not heard from her for so long? Where is she? It’s not like Carly to leave and not get in touch with us… We just need your help to find our daughter.”

Shari also spoke to her daughter, saying, “If Carly is out there listening to this, I just want her to know how much her family loves her and we just want her to come home no matter what.”

The next day, Lincoln police executed a search warrant on Barraza’s apartment in connection with a federal drug case that they had been investigating for quite some time. Inside the apartment, officers found methamphetamine, cash, and weapons. Barraza was not legally allowed to own firearms, so, according to the federal indictment, he would send Rachel to purchase them on his behalf. Both were arrested and charged with firearms conspiracy and drug trafficking.

While executing the search warrant, investigators seized every cell phone in the apartment. From the data they extracted, they learned that on the morning of May 17th, Barraza had asked his mother to order an Uber to pick up someone from Carly Schaaf’s house and take them to his apartment. This lined up with what Carly’s boyfriend had said about that morning’s events.

Investigators sorted through hundreds of pictures and videos on Barraza’s phone. They found multiple videos showing Barraza sexually assaulting various women who appeared to be heavily drugged, some of them completely unconscious. Carly was one of them.

Also on the phone were pictures and videos that appeared to have been taken near a local lakefront. On June 1st, Barraza had taken a video of a wooded area, zooming in on a specific spot of trees. He texted the video to Rachel, saying, “See anything?”

Investigators believed that these images would lead them to Carly, but there were dozens of lakes in Lancaster County alone; which one was the right one?

Between May 25th and June 1st, Barraza’s phone had pinged numerous times off a tower close to Pawnee Lake, a recreational area just a few miles outside of the city. Surveillance video captured Rachel Pageler’s white Chevy Malibu traveling in the same area on June 1st.

On June 10th, investigators searching the southwest side of Pawnee Lake discovered the remains of Carly Schaaf. Her body had been wrapped in a shower curtain and a brown comforter identical to one seen in pictures of Barraza’s apartment. Her hair had been bleached and her head wrapped in plastic bags. Tree limbs had been placed on top of her, presumably to hide her from sight.

Carly’s family was devastated by the news. On June 18th, her loved ones gathered together for a celebration of her life, finding comfort in sharing memories of her. They remembered Carly’s love of animals and children, her contagious laugh, and her desire to see the world. Part of her obituary read, “With sadness in our hearts, we are aware that Carly left this earth too suddenly. With this, we are all also aware that she will be forever young and always dancing in the moonlight.”

Investigators were determined to bring justice to Carly’s family, but there were still hurdles to overcome. Months passed without an official ruling from the coroner on Carly’s cause and manner of death, leaving the investigation at a standstill. All they could do was wait. In a statement to the press, Carly’s family said, “We can’t bring Carly back, but we want to get her the justice she deserves. Our family won’t receive any closure until we can get answers.”

Finally, in October of 2021, investigators received the results of Carly’s autopsy. She had died from a combination of a drug overdose and asphyxia by smothering. Her death was ruled a homicide.

Investigators could now move forward, but they wanted to be cautious and deliberate. They only had one shot at getting a conviction. Joesef Barraza and Rachel Pageler were in jail already, awaiting trial for their drug and weapons charges. This allowed investigators to take their time with Carly’s case.

In January of 2022, Joesef Barraza was charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, and three counts of sexual assault. Rachel Pageler was charged with accessory to murder and kidnapping. But the wheels of justice move slowly, and it would be several years before Carly’s family saw a resolution.

In December of 2023, Barraza received a 17-year prison sentence in the federal drug and weapons case. Two months later, he entered a not guilty plea in Carly’s case. Not long after that, police announced that they were charging Danyl Barraza with accessory to murder. According to court records, Joesef Barraza had coerced his then 16-year-old brother into helping him move and conceal Carly’s body at Pawnee Lake. Danyl, now 19, pleaded not guilty.

In June of 2025 – four years after Carly Schaaf’s death – Joesef Barraza’s trial began. Prosecutors laid out the case against him, a damning timeline of digital and physical evidence. They told the jury that Barraza had known Carly in high school, and they had stayed in touch over the next few years. But in the spring of 2021, Barraza started harassing Carly over the phone to the point where she needed to make a police report. Then, on May 17th, Carly went to Barraza’s apartment where she sent a final Snapchat message to her boyfriend. Based on the coroner’s report, investigators believe that Barraza held Carly at the apartment for days, possibly weeks, drugging her and sexually assaulting her, some of which he recorded on video. On May 22nd, Barraza watched a YouTube video on how to make Piranha solution, a chemical mixture that can break down most organic materials. He also searched for ways to bleach dark hair. Then, sometime between May 29th and June 1st, Joesef Barraza suffocated Carly until she was dead. He convinced his girlfriend and his brother to help him dispose of her body at Pawnee Lake.

After a two-week trial, the jury found Joesef Barraza guilty of first-degree murder and three counts of first-degree sexual assault. Judge Lori Maret sentenced him to life in prison plus 150 years, saying, “His lack of sorrow, remorse, shame, or even disgust for his own actions show he is missing something that would allow him to be a productive member of any society.”

In a victim impact statement, Carly’s aunt Amee spoke directly to Barraza. “You didn’t just kill Carly Meree Schaaf. You shattered our family and created a ripple of pain and trauma, and we’re still struggling to live with it for the rest of our lives.”

In August of 2025, Rachel Pageler pleaded guilty to accessory to manslaughter and abandoning human remains. She was sentenced to five years in prison. Danyl Barraza also pleaded guilty to accessory to manslaughter and was sentenced to three years in prison.

After the sentencing, Carly’s family expressed their gratitude to law enforcement and the county attorneys for their dedication to the case. They also expressed their desire to remember Carly as a smart, beautiful young woman who was loved by so many. “We want Carly to be remembered not for the tragedy of this case, but for the joy, warmth, and light she brought into the world. Now that this chapter has closed, we will turn our attention to what matters most, honoring our beautiful daughter and cherishing every memory we have of her.”