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Wisconsin Woman Guilty In Boyfriend’s Meth-Fueled Decapitation: "This Is Bizarre. This Is Strange. This Is Unnatural"
Prosecutors had said Taylor Schabusiness confessed to choking Shad Thyrion to death with a metal chain while the two were engaged in sexual relations. She later sexually assaulted his corpse and dismembered him.
A Wisconsin woman who decapitated her lover during a methamphetamine binge, sexually assaulted his corpse and disposed of his head in a bucket, has been found guilty of the grisly crimes.
Taylor Schabusiness, 25, was convicted by a Brown County jury on Wednesday on charges of homicide, third-degree sexual abuse and mutilating a corpse in the 2022 slaying of her 24-year-old boyfriend Shad Thyrion. She had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
Jurors deliberated for less than an hour before returning their verdict at 5:40 p.m., The Green Bay Press Gazette reported. Schabusiness was later taken from the courtroom in handcuffs by bailiffs, according to the newspaper.
The trial’s next phase, which will deliberate whether Schabusiness is mentally ill, and whether she’ll be sent to prison or a mental institution, was expected to continue Thursday.
"Although we are disappointed with the verdict, we respect the rule of law," Schabusiness' attorney, Christopher Froelich, told Oxygen.com. "We will continue to vigorously advocate for Ms. Schabusiness as we navigate through the sentencing process. We believe that our defense forensic psychologist was correct in opining that she suffered from a mental disease or defect at the time of the incident."
In February of 2022, Thyrion’s mother found his head — which had been “severed from the neck” — in a bucket in the basement of their family’s home, according to a criminal complaint previously obtained by Oxygen.com. Detectives later discovered various body parts and organs strewn throughout the space.
Prosecutors say Schabusniness ultimately confessed to choking Thyrion to death with a metal chain while the two were engaged in sexual relations. She later sexually assaulted his corpse and dismembered him. Schabusiness told police she’d “blacked out” during the horrifying incident. A glass pipe and suspected methamphetamine were also seized by authorities from the crime scene.
At trial, prosecutors played body camera footage of the gruesome crime scene for the case’s 12 jurors.
"This is bizarre,” Brown County district attorney David Lasee said of the case in his closing arguments. “This is strange. This is unnatural, but in no way is it unclear. [Schabusiness] did cause Shad Thyrion's death."
Caleb Saunders, a Brown County assistant district attorney, added, "There's one truth in this case: What the defendant did to Shad Thyrion."
Schabusiness’ defense lawyer, Froelich, however, attempted to cast doubt over the prosecution’s case in his closing arguments, calling into question the state’s interpretation of his client’s intent.
"This case is a puzzling, unclear collection of facts," Froelich stated, according to The Green Bay Press Gazette. "Was this an accidental death? Was there intent to kill Shad Thryion? It's foggy, it's cloudy, it's hard to figure out."
In February, Schabusiness attacked her former attorney, Quinn Jolly, in court, a reaction involving the date for a competency hearing. Brown County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Walsh declared Schabusiness competent to stand trial the following month.
Schabusiness remains in custody at a Brown County detention center, online jail records obtained by Oxygen.com show.
