Content advisory: This article includes graphic descriptions of violent crimes that may be triggering or distressing to some readers. Please read with caution.
Once in a while, a horrifying event leaves us completely shaken, and this time, it’s the disturbing story of Taylor Schabusiness and her brutal crimes that have recently captured headlines, shocking the public with their violent and explicit nature during the trial. Unsurprisingly, true crime enthusiasts have also avidly followed the details of Schabusiness’ actions, meticulously documenting the events through podcast episodes and YouTube videos.
The crime that claimed the life of Shad Thyrion had, until now, remained shrouded in mystery. Little did his family and Thyrion himself know that the perpetrator behind these heinous acts was Schabusiness, whose true and sinister nature had been hidden from those around her. Tragically, by the time they discovered her real personality, it was already too late for Thyrion, who could never have foreseen that his girlfriend would become the prime suspect in his own death. This is their harrowing story.
Who is Taylor Schabusiness?
Before delving into the details of her alleged gruesome crimes, it is best to understand the individual being described. Schabusiness is a 25-year-old woman residing in Green Bay, Wisconsin. As is often the case with cases as violent as this one, Schabusiness had already faced legal trouble prior to the current events that led to her arrest — namely, for fleeing, eluding, and obstructing a police officer.
On January 4, 2022, she was sentenced to three months in prison with work-release privileges for being the prime suspect in her late boyfriend’s death. On July 27, she was found guilty on all charges, but a second trial must still occur.
What did Taylor Schabusiness do?
During her trial on Wednesday, Schabusiness, who is accused of allegedly having decapitated her partner during a meth-fueled BDSM escapade, provided a disturbing account to investigators, in addition to her prior admissions. Just a month after her arrest last year, in a filmed interrogation, she described how she allegedly dismembered him and sexually abused his corpse simultaneously, as reported by Law & Crime. That same day, Schabusiness was charged with first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse, and third-degree sexual assault.
Throughout the interrogation, Schabusiness did not appear remorseful. Instead, the video shows her cackling and giggling throughout several moments as she described the violent details and the location of his dismembered body. In fact, the accused also added that Thyrion’s head was allegedly the “first thing [she] took off” and that she was “very” excited about using his corpse later on.
Among those who interviewed Schabusiness was Green Bay Police Department Detective David Graf, who claimed the 25-year-old’s devious actions started with her choking Thyrion as foreplay, and then she apparently wanted to see how far she could go. “She described how she had sexual contact with the body in terms of playing with his penis,” Graf said, and went on to recount various abuses to which Schabusiness subjected the corpse, adding that “she had also cuddled the body.”
According to prosecutors, Schabusiness used a dog collar to strangle Thyrion at his Green Bay home, which he shared with his mother. After the strangulation, she allegedly proceeded to dismember his body using kitchen knives. Shockingly, Thyrion’s severed head and penis were later discovered by his mother in a bucket in the basement of their home, as previously disclosed to the jurors.
Was Taylor Schabusiness convicted?
In February, she faced charges of first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse, and third-degree sexual assault. However, it was on July 26, 2023, that the Brown County jury delivered its verdict, finding her guilty on all counts after just half an hour of deliberation. Despite having been convicted of her heinous crimes, however, the jurors recently stated that they must determine her guilt based on mental disease or defect before making an official decision, even though she was previously deemed by the jury competent and sane enough to go on the stand.
If found guilty without mental disease as a mitigating factor, Schabusiness could face a harsher sentence than she might have ever considered. In Wisconsin, first-degree intentional homicide carries a life sentence according to state law, meaning her fate will yet be decided during a second phase of the trial, and reevaluated if found that she is guilty based on a defect or a potential mental illness.
If you know someone suffering from sexual violence, contact RAINN or the National Sexual Abuse Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.