A Wisconsin woman attacked her attorney during a court hearing Tuesday, moments after the judge indicated he was going to delay her March 6 trial.
25-year-old Taylor Schabusiness is charged with first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse and third-degree sexual assault for allegedly attacking Shad Thyrion on February 23, 2022. She has pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.
Separate from the so-called insanity plea, also yet to be decided is a defense claim Schabusiness is not competent to stand trial. Competency refers to the defendant’s ability to understand the court proceedings and assist in their own defense. If deemed competent, the case would proceed. If deemed not competent, the case would be put on hold while she receives additional psychiatric treatment.
There have been reports indicating Schabusiness is competent, but the defense also hired another expert to do a review. His report is not completed, however, defense attorney Quinn Jolly said Tuesday. He asked for two more weeks for that testimony to take place.
Judge Thomas Walsh reluctantly agreed to postpone the trial. Schabusiness then attacked Jolly, and was wrestled to the ground by a deputy.
The courtroom was cleared for several moments before the hearing resumed to discuss scheduling.
The adjourned competency hearing _ which was supposed to happen Tuesday — was set for March 6. The judge proposed a May 15 trial date.
Jolly then said he would file a motion to withdraw from the case, but the judge did not immediately rule on that.
According to the criminal complaint, police were called to a residence on Stony Brook Lane early in the morning of Feb. 23, 2022. There, police found a severed head inside a bucket in the basement.
Schabusiness said she and the victim were using drugs, including meth, and engaging in sexual play, when the man was strangled. She then sexually abused him, dismembered the body and placed body parts in various locations in the home and a vehicle, the criminal complaint states.
“Schabusiness made the comment that at one point, she did get paranoid and lazy and that she thought it was the ‘dope’ that was making her paranoid,” the complaint states.
Police say they took Schabusiness into custody later on Feb. 23 at an Eastman Avenue residence.
Schabusiness removed an electronic monitoring bracelet hours before the murder, according to the sheriff’s department. A warrant was issued for her arrest, but she was not located before allegedly killing Thyrion.
She is being held on a $2 million cash bond.
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