GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A jury of nine women and seven men will hear the case against Taylor Schabusiness.
A judge ruled Friday morning Schabusiness is mentally competent to stand trial for the murder and dismemberment of Shad Thyrion. With the jury seated, opening arguments are set for Monday morning.
During a hearing Friday morning, state-appointed psychologist Matthew Seipel testified that he believed Schabusiness was competent.
The new competency evaluation was ordered after a defense psychologist argued that Schabusiness was not competent for trial.
Seipel testified he met with Schabusiness for 90 minutes, to evaluate her at the Brown County Jail, back on July 12th. It’s the second court ordered competency exam Seipel has conducted on Schabusiness.
He testified to not only using his interactions with her to reach his conclusion, but he also reviewed the reports of other doctors who examined Schabusiness, he looked at jail and previous medical records, and he spoke with defense counsel about his interactions with his client. And while it’s been well documented, including an attack on her previous attorney back in February, Seipel said during his interactions with Schabusiness she was calm and communicative and showed no signs of suffering from a several mental health condition.
According to Seipel, “While certain such behaviors certainly are disruptive and concerning, I found no evidence to suggest that there was a consistent pattern of such behaviors that could be directly attributed to symptoms of a mental illness rather I am fundamentally unable to rule out that they’re primarily volitional in nature.”
Under cross examination, and in his argument to the court, Christopher Froelich, Schabusiness’ attorney, questioned whether Seipel’s exam of Schabusiness was enough to determine her competency — asking that she be sent to a state mental institution for further evaluation.
Froelich said, “It’s not a clear cut case, in our opinion, and I would argue that a 90 minute interview by Dr. Seipel with Ms. Schabusiness I don’t think that this is going to be enough time to really fully understand and address the issues in this particular case.”
Judge Thomas Walsh disagreed, noting how he has held multiple hearings and ordered several competency evaluations on Schabusiness. The judge, when ruling Schabusiness is competent to stand, said he’s weighed all of the testimony and observed the defendant to reach his decision. He said, “As I sit up here I can see everything that goes on in the courtroom, I can see them interacting, discussing, Ms. Schabusiness indicates she thinks she can work with him. She understands what the courtroom procedures and players are.”
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 Thyrion were using drugs, including meth, and engaging in sexual play when he 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.
The morning hearing is the latest in a series regarding Schabusiness’ competency — that is, if she is able to understand the court proceedings and assist in her own defense. It does not address her mental state at the time of the attack.
The issue has been raised several times since the February 2022 murder, with Judge Thomas Walsh ruling each time she is competent to stand trial.
Four of the jurors will be selected as alternates following closing arguments and will not take part in deliberations.
