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Taylor Schabusiness, Accused Of Dismembering Lover In Meth-Fueled Fetish Killing, Allegedly Attacked Defense Attorney In Court
Taylor Denise Schabusiness, 25, lunged at her defense attorney when a Wisconsin judge suggested pushing back her next court date from March 6 to May 15.
A Wisconsin woman accused of dismembering her lover in a meth-addled sex killing last year struck her own defense lawyer in court on Tuesday after the presiding judge suggested her next court date should be pushed back.
Local news outlets captured the courtroom attack on camera during a mental competency hearing for accused murderer Taylor Denise Schabusiness, 25, according to FOX 6. An independent expert for the defense was due to testify to Schabusiness' mental health but was unable to appear, the outlet reported. When Judge Thomas J. Walsh suggested that the next scheduled court hearing be postponed from March 6 to May 15 so the expert could complete their report, the shackled defendant lunged at her defense lawyer Quinn Jolly.
A stunned Brown County bailiff subdued Schabusiness moments after she struck Jolly in the head with her elbow, according to the Green Bay Press Gazette.
Jolly declined to comment when contacted by Oxygen.com called his firm, Brabazon Law Office, asking whether he would continue to represent Schabusiness after the incident.
Previously, Oxygen.com reported that Schabusiness allegedly confessed to strangling her friend, 24-year-old Shad Thyrion, to death with a metal chain before sexually assaulting and dismembering his dead body.
The victim's mother called police on February 23 last year after finding her son's disembodied head inside a bucket that was covered by a blanket in the basement of her Green Bay home.
Police discovered the man's head "severed from the neck," according to a criminal complaint obtained by Oxygen.com. In addition to the head, a "male organ," two knives and "body fluid" were found in the bucket.
Scattered around the apartment in plastic bags were more body parts, and three more knives were recovered. A storage tote in the basement held the man's desiccated torso, and a pathologist determined that his body showed signs of strangulation.
Tyrion's mother told police that she last saw her son with Schabusiness two days prior to discovering his remains.
When police checked her nearby apartment, Schabusiness was allegedly covered in blood. Thyrion's legs and other body parts were reportedly found in a crock pot box by her van.
Allegedly Schabusiness confessed to the murder, telling police that she had been using methamphetamines. She claimed that she "blacked out" as she strangled Thyrion while the two were engaged in sexual intercourse. Initially, she claimed "the strangulation was part of the sex act" and they'd previously engaged in consensual sexual asphyxia in the past, according to charging documents.
Thyrion laid facedown as he was choked to death, police said.
“Schabusiness stated she just went ‘crazy,’” charging documents added. “At one point during the interview, Schabusiness allegedly stated she could feel the victim’s heart beating still as she was choking him, so she kept pulling and choking him harder, but the victim would not die.”
The now-25-year-old also told police they would "have fun trying to find all of the organs" of the slain man, according to the documents.
She reportedly told police she enjoyed carrying out the murder and asked detectives whether "they knew what it was like to love something so much that you kill it."
In July, Schabusiness pleaded not guilty to charges against her by reason of mental disease or defect, Oxygen.com previously reported.
It has yet to be decided whether Schabusiness is competent to stand trial, according to FOX 6.
Last April, Oxygen.com reported that she passed her first competency exam conducted by the state, after which Jolly requested a second exam be conducted by an independent expert.
“Her ability to understand the process and assist in her defense is still an issue in this case,” Shane Brabazon, whose firm is representing Schabusiness, told Oxygen.com at the time. “We take our client's mental health seriously and are prepared to zealously advocate for our client.”
In previous court sessions, Jolly has argued that Schabusiness has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and has been treated for her mental health since she was 13 years old.
According to Brown County Jail records, Schabusiness is currently being held on a $2 million bond.
