High school footballer stabbed pregnant cheerleader to death in US

A high school football player has confessed to stabbing a cheerleader to death after she waited too long to tell him she pregnant.

Aaron Trejo, 16, from Indianapolis, was charged on Monday with murder and feticide in the death of Breana Rouhselang on Saturday.

The 17-year-old cheerleader was six months pregnant, her mother told police.

Trejo told authorities he was aware of Breana's pregnancy and that he was alleged to be the father, but he said neither wanted to have the baby.

He said the two fought about the child before he stabbed Breana in the heart with a knife.

He then put a black plastic bag over her, put her body in a dumpster in Mishawaka, north of Indianappolis, and threw her phone and the knife in a river, court papers said.

"I took action... I took her life," he said, when asked by authorities what he did when he learned she had waited too long to get an abortion by the time she told him of the pregnancy.

Trejo told authorities "he had been planning and thinking about killing Breana and the baby for about a week and had not told anybody".

An autopsy revealed that Breana died from multiple stab wounds and was also being choked by her scarf, which was tighed tightly around her neck.

St Joseph County Metro Homicide Unit Assistant Commander Lt. Alex Arendt told reporters the Rouhselang family had contacted the Mishawaka Police Department about 4.30am on Sunday to report her missing after last seeing her at home around midnight.

"Upon their arrival and a search of the area they found evidence of a possible violent crime," Arendt said.

Police later found her body in a dumpster behind a restaurant, with a black plastic bag over her head and torso.

Trejo initially told police he contacted Breana for the first time in months to see how she was coping with the pregnancy.

She had agreed to meet him, but he told police she wasn't at home when he went there, according to the court papers.

In his confession, he told authorities he decided to use a knife, which he brought from his home, "because he thought it would kill Breana quickly.”

Trejo entered a preliminary plea of not guilty. His next court date is December 19.

A fundraising page set up by a family says: “Poor Breana was a victim to an awful crime today, December, 9 2018.

“She was found deceased in a dumpster behind Rulli's restaurant in Mishawaka, Indiana.

“Breanna was 6 months pregnant. This is such a hard tragedy to accept! This loving young lady was so full of life and didn't deserve this.”

Mishawaka High School released a statement on Rouhselang's death, saying it was a terrible tragedy.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family members and friends who have been affected by this great loss. Our focus now is to offer all of the support possible to our staff and students," the school said.

The school said it would make grief counsellors available to students.