SAN ANTONIO – One of the owners whose dogs killed an elderly San Antonio man gave conflicting statements during a police interview that was shown in court Wednesday.

Abilene Schnieder and her husband, Christian Moreno, have pleaded guilty in connection with the Feb. 24, 2023, attack that claimed the life of Ramon Najera and severely injured his wife, Janie.

During the third day of testimony in the punishment phase of the defendants’ trial, Schnieder’s police interview that was conducted five days after the attack was shown in court.

Throughout the interview with San Antonio Police Department Detective Tatiana Blanco, Schnieder gave inconsistent accounts of the events leading up to the killing.

“There was never an aggressive bone in their bodies,” Schnieder told police, referring to her dogs. “When I saw that video, I didn’t recognize my dogs.”

Schnieder initially stated that only one of the dogs was tied up, but later in the interview, she claimed that all three dogs had been tied up, and the gate to their home was secured when they left their home the day of the attack.

“We fixed it, we did everything. We never left our gate open,” she said.

Schnieder also alleged that her neighbors had previously agitated the dogs, which led to aggressive behavior. She mentioned an incident in which one of the dogs attacked another person weeks before the fatal mauling. According to Schnieder, she believed someone had tried to steal one of the dogs and stabbed it in the process.

Despite her claims that the dogs were not aggressive, Schnieder described several instances of the animals fighting with each other.

Blanco pointed out the inconsistencies in her statements, at which point Schnieder became upset.

“This was a freak accident, this was not something we caused,” she said. “Like Shamu at Sea World, nobody expected it to kill its trainer.”

The defense presented several character witnesses.

Schnieder’s mom, stepdad, and friend spoke about how remorseful she was about the attack and the changes she had made since then.

“She’s a good person, kind-hearted and helps people,” Schnieder’s stepfather, Mario Cardona, said.

The daughter of their neighbor, the seamstress who the Najera’s were visiting, also took the stand on behalf of the defense.

Sylvia Serna said Schnieder and Moreno were kind to her mother and always helped her out. She didn’t understand why the neighbors always called the cops on them.

Serna said after the deadly attack her mother, who has since died, was torn because she was really good friends with the Najeras and also cared for Schnieder and Moreno.

Both sides rested their cases Wednesday afternoon.

Judge Velia Meza is expected to announce punishment on Sept. 20. The defense is asking for probation, while the state is seeking the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

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