GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — For the first time since the case began, a mental health professional has found Taylor Schabusiness not mentally competent to stand trial for the murder of Shad Thyrion.
“My opinion is, in this case, that she’s not competent to proceed to trial,” said psychologist Diane Lytton who testified for the defense Thursday morning.
She said in court that Schabusiness lacks insight and judgment to understand court proceedings and assist in her legal defense.
Lytton is not evaluating Schabusiness’ mental state at the time of the February 2022 killing. That issue would be handled at a different phase of the trial.
Thursday’s hearing is part of a new competency evaluation requested by Schabusiness’ attorney and granted by Judge Thomas Walsh. Walsh rejected a similar request in March, ruling that no evidence had been presented to contradict a finding last November that she was competent to stand trial.
Lytton told the judge Schbusiness’ reaction, including facial expressions and her affect while being evaluated, coupled with her inability to stay focused when talking about her case are some of the red flags leading to the belief she’s not competent to stand trial.
The psychologist specifically talking about Schabusiness’ demeanor and reaction to an incident in February when she attacked her then attorney Quinn Jolly as well as the first time she met with the 25-year old.
Lytton telling the court how Schabusiness was non-verbal in that initial meeting and then without warning, she stood up, screamed, walked to a corner of the room and then threw a chair at the doctor. No one was injured in the incident.
“The emotional expressions on her face don’t match what she’s talking about. Other evaluators have noted her frequent tendencies to go off track and not always coherent. We call it thought disorganization and I noticed that quite prominently during the two hours I spent with her,” said Lytton.
Experts from the Wisconsin Forensic Unit have been ordered to perform their own evaluation of Schabusiness. They are set to present their report July 21. Lytton will be allowed to provide rebuttal testimony at that hearing.
It will be up to Walsh to make a final determination on Schabusiness’ competency. The decision could come shortly before her trial is set to begin with jury selection July 21. If Schabusiness is found not competent, the trial would be delayed.
Schabusiness is charged with first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse and third-degree sexual assault. 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.
