LINCOLN, Neb. - Lincoln Police announced on Friday that two arrests have been made in connection to the death of 23-year-old Carly Schaaf.

Joesef Barraza and Rachel Pageler are both facing felony charges. Barraza is charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, and three counts of sexual assault. Pageler is charged with accessory to murder and kidnapping. They were both arrested on unrelated charges in June 2021 and were later charged with crimes related to Schaaf’s death after police searched their home.

Lincoln Police Chief Teresa Ewins said law enforcement knew Schaaf’s disappearance was suspicious after she left belongings in her apartment that she wouldn’t normally leave behind.

Police said Schaaf knew the suspects but wouldn't specify how.

Barraza was previously arrested for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman on August 30, 2020, in east Lincoln. In that case, the woman told police she believed she had been drugged by Barraza and had no memory of what happened.

Schaaf was first reported missing on May 17 of 2021. On June 10 the same year, her body was found in a wooded area near Pawnee Lake.

In early October of last year, the Lincoln woman’s death certificate was made public. It listed her cause of death as a homicide from asphyxia due to smothering, combined with a drug overdose. The death certificate is dated June 16, less than a week after Schaaf’s body was found.