A woman accused of decapitating her lover has attacked her lawyer in a Wisconsin courtroom.
Taylor Schabusiness, 25, appeared in national news stories last year after allegations came to light that she supposedly decapitated her partner while having sex on meth.
She attacked her own lawyer, Quinn Jolly of Green Bay, in court on Tuesday when the judge said a delay of her trial was needed.
Judge Thomas Walsh found that the trial, set to begin on 6 March, needed to be pushed back to 15 May, if not later, Fox 6 reported.
Ms Schabusiness was less than pleased by the scheduling change and seemingly placed the blame squarely on Mr Jolly.
The 25-year-old was handcuffed when she attacked the attorney and a short fight ensued before an officer in the room scrambled to restrain her.
Mr Jolly is reported to have told Judge Walsh that he required more time for an expert for the defence to look into the case and to testify regarding the competency of Ms Schabusiness, according to Law & Crime.
She has pleaded not guilty to several charges, including first-degree intentional homicide, mutilation of a corpse and sexual assault.
The charges stem from 23 February 2022, when she’s alleged to have killed Shad Thyrion – her lover, according to the authorities.
Ms Schabusiness has also pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, legal filings reveal.
Last year, a physician appointed by the court found that she was able to stand trial. Mr Jolly said at that time that he was intending to get a secondary examination conducted. He added that Ms Schabusiness has been diagnosed as bipolar in the past and that she had been getting mental health treatment since she was in the seventh grade.
A criminal complaint states that the authorities found Mr Thyrion’s head in a bucket in a basement after his mother had discovered the scene of the alleged meth-fueled crime, according to Law & Crime.
Ms Schabusiness is alleged to have admitted that she became “crazy” while having sex and choked Mr Thyrion with the chain that had been placed around his neck.
“Schabusiness stated she then began to choke the Victim, and she described it as the Victim lying face down on the bed with her on top of him pulling on the end of the chain,” the complaint states. “The Victim coughed up blood and she was just waiting for him to die while she was watching his face.”
“Schabusiness made the comment that she was ‘already this far’ so she just kept on, referring to choking the Victim. Schabusiness said in a lower tone of voice, ‘Ya I liked it,’ and Detective Graf believed her to be referring to when she was choking the Victim,” the document says. “Schabusiness stated she thought it took 3-5 minutes for the Victim to die. Detective Kempf clarified with Schabusiness that when the Victim began to cough up blood she just did keep on choking the Victim because she wanted to see what happens.”
“Schabusiness made comments that she blacked out while choking the Victim but when she woke up that the Victim was already purple, so she kept on going,” the legal filing states. “Schabusiness stated she enjoyed choking him and made comments to detectives asking if they knew what it was like to love something so much that you kill it.”
Ms Schabusiness allegedly indicated the crime scene and told officers that they would “have fun trying to find all of the organs”.
“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,” legal documents say. “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.”
It has been reported that Mr Jolly intends to leave the case.
Mr Jolly’s law firm, the Brabazon Law Office, told The Independent that “due to ethical considerations, we have no comment at this time”.
