A jury convicted Taylor Schabusiness of homicide, third-degree sexual abuse and mutilating a corpse in the February 2022 killing of Shad Thyrion.
It took jurors just 50 minutes to convict the Wisconsin woman accused of killing and then decapitating her longtime friend and sometime paramour during a meth-fueled sexual encounter.
Taylor Schabusiness, 25, was convicted of homicide, third-degree sexual abuse and mutilating a corpse in the February 2022 killing of Shad Thyrion, 24.
The defendant, who had laughed, slept and smirked her way through the three-day trial, showed little emotion as the jury announced their verdict.
The jury will now return today to begin phase two of the trial as they determine if Schabusiness was not guilty by mental disease or defect.
This will determine if Schabusiness will serve out her sentence in prison or at a mental institution.
Her lawyer Christopher Froelich wrote in a previous court filing that he had "concerns that the defendant may have been suffering from a mental breakdown or other mental defect before and after the alleged incident on Feb. 23, 2022."
He also voiced "concerns about the defendant's ability to assist in her own defense at this time," and noted that he "questions whether this defendant has the mental capacity to understand the proceedings."
In support of these "concerns" and "questions," Froelich included an NGI evaluation from Dr. Diane Lytton. That evaluation is used to determine if an individual might be not guilty by reason of insanity.
Lytton agreed with Froelich’s assessment of his client, according to the attorney.
According to the criminal complaint filed in Brown County Circuit Court, Schabusiness allegedly admitted to killing Shad Thyrion during an interrogation.
She also allegedly told detectives that she sexually abused his corpse before dismembering his body with a bread knife.
“Schabusiness responded that the police were going to have fun trying to find all of the organs,” wrote Caleb Saunders, assistant district attorney for Brown County, in the complaint.
“Schabusiness stated all of the body parts should be in the basement. Schabusiness stated there should be a foot or a leg in the minivan. Detective Graf asked Schabusiness what she did with the head, and Schabusiness stated she had put the Victim’s head in a black bucket and put a blanket over it,” the complaint alleges. "Schabusiness stated the plan was for her to bring all of the body parts with her but she got lazy and only ended up putting the leg/foot in the van and she forgot the head."
Thyrion's mother testified on Monday that she first found her son's head when she went downstairs to check on him after Schabusiness left the home.
