A woman convicted of strangling her lover and dismembering his corpse made chilling searches about Jeffrey Dahmer in the week leading up to the murder.
Taylor Schabusiness, 25, was found guilty Wednesday on charges of first-degree intentional homicide, mutilation of a corpse and third-degree sexual assault in the death of 24-year-old Shad Thyrion on 23 February 2022 in Gray Bay, Wisconsin. Schabusiness admitted to choking Thyrion during sex after consuming meth and prescription drugs.
During the three-day trial, detectives told the court about Schabusiness’ online searches for “Jeffrey Dahmer walking into court all sexy” and “Jeffrey Dahmer’s butt.” Although her defence had requested those searches not be admitted as evidence, Brown County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Walsh ruled in the prosecution’s favour.
Eleven days before she killed Thyrion, Schabusiness took a bizarre selfie next to a cellphone with an image of the cannibal serial killer.
The most damning evidence against Schabusiness came from disturbingly graphic detail about the way Thyrion’s body was mutilated. His head and genitals were left inside a bucket that his mother found at her home, while his carved-out torso with a foot stuffed inside and “chunks of his flesh” were discovered in her basement.
It took jurors less than an hour to find her guilty on all charges.
Schabusiness’s former attorney had entered a not-guilty plea for reason of insanity. The legal counsel left the case after she attacked him in court in February when the judge delayed her trial.
“This case is a puzzling, unclear collection of facts,” Schabusiness’ current attorney Christopher Froelich said during closing arguments, according to the Green Bay 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.”
However, prosecutors argued that the oddities and gruesome details surrounding the case left no doubt the murder had been premeditated and evil.
“This is bizarre. This is strange. This is unnatural, but in no way is it unclear,” Brown County District Attorney David Lasee told jurors.
Eleven days before she killed Shad Thyrion, Taylor Schabusiness took a bizarre selfie next to a cellphone with an image of Jeffrey Dahmer— (Law&Crime Network )
According to a criminal complaint, Schabusiness picked up Thyrion from her mother’s home around 9.30pm on 21 February 2022. A friend of the couple joined them before they headed to an apartment where the three smoked marijuana.
Ms Schabusiness told police that she and Thyrion also smoked methamphetamine and injected Trazadone. She and Thyrion eventually returned to his mother’s home and spent the day there while she was away.
The alleged murderer claimed in an interview with police that she and Thyrion used chains to choke one another as foreplay. Thyrion reportedly laid face down in bed before Ms Schabusiness “went crazy” and repeatedly choked him despite the fact that he was coughing blood and turned purple.
Thyrion was murdered and dismembered. His head was found inside a bucket by his mother on 23 February 2022.
Taylor Schabusiness scowls as guilty verdict is read out— (Law&Crime)
Green Bay Police Detective David Graf testified in court earlier this week that Ms Schabusiness allegedly admitted to enjoying the ordeal.
“Her response was that she liked it,” Detective Graf said, according to local news station WBAY.
Dane County Medical Examiner Dr Vincent Tranchida also testified in court about the lack of blood on the scene of the murder.
“We have decapitation, we have dismemberment, we have transection of the torso, subsequently internally the body has been eviscerated. In other words, we have entered inside the body through various cuts through the abdomen and between the ribs where the victim’s organs have been removed, largely one by one,” he told jurors.
