Family Of Teen Accused Of Killing Pregnant High School Cheerleader Say He's 'Far From Being A Monster'

The family of the teenage football player who has been accused of murdering a cheerleader because she was pregnant with his baby has leapt to his defense, pointing to any possible explanations — including a past concussion — for his alleged actions.

Aaron Trejo, 16, on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to the murder of 17-year-old Breana Rouhselang, who was found stabbed to death inside a dumpster in Mishawaka, Indiana on Sunday morning. He’s being held without bond.

Trejo has allegedly already confessed to killing Rouhselang; according to court documents obtained by Oxygen.com, he allegedly admitted to being enraged after finding out about Rouhselang’s pregnancy when she was already six months into it — too late for her to legally consider an abortion.

"I took action. ... I took her life," he allegedly told authorities. Rouhselang was found stabbed multiple times and strangled with a scarf inside a dumpster located behind a restaurant.

Still, family members have come forward to speak to Trejo’s personality.

“This is not him. This is not in his character,” Alexzaundra Patton-Manu, the suspect’s aunt, told the Daily Beast. “Everybody’s still in shock.”

She told the publication that her nephew suffered a “bad concussion” during this past autumn’s football season.

“That could have messed with his mind,” she said, adding that overall Trejo was “far from being a monster.” Rather, he was just a “typical kid” who “loved sports.”

Meanwhile, Patton-Manu said that her family, most of whom have declined to speak to reporters in the wake of Rouhselang's death, has experienced abuse since Trejo became a suspect in the case of Rouhselang’s death.

“All of us go to church. We’re all God-fearing people,” she said. “We just want everybody to stop trying to harass everybody in our family. We didn’t do nothing wrong.”

[Photo Credits: St. Joseph County Prosecutor's Office/Facebook]