The murder of Shad Thyrion took place on February 21, 2022, in the basement of his mother’s Green Bay, Wisconsin home, where 24-year-old Thyrion was strangled, decapitated, and dismembered by Taylor Schabusiness, a woman he had known since middle school. Schabusiness was convicted in July 2023 of first-degree intentional homicide, third-degree sexual assault, and mutilating a corpse, and sentenced that September to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus 18 consecutive years.
Who Shad Thyrion Was
Shad Rock Thyrion was born on September 7, 1997, and grew up in the Howard-Suamico area near Green Bay. He worked with his father, Michael Thyrion, and his grandfather in the family’s businesses. His obituary described him as a talented wood carver who enjoyed camping and games.1Newcomer Funeral Home. Shad Thyrion Obituary
Thyrion and Taylor Schabusiness had known each other since middle school and were sexually involved. Some outlets called him her former boyfriend; the criminal complaint described them as friends in a sexual relationship.2Green Bay Press-Gazette. What We Know About the Green Bay Decapitation
What Happened in the Basement
On February 21, 2022, Schabusiness and Thyrion consumed marijuana, methamphetamine, and the antidepressant trazodone at his mother’s home on Stony Brook Lane. In the basement, they engaged in sexual activity that involved strangulation with metal chains, something Schabusiness told police had been part of past encounters.2Green Bay Press-Gazette. What We Know About the Green Bay Decapitation She later told investigators she “went crazy” and repeatedly strangled Thyrion while he lay face down, that she enjoyed strangling him, and that she did not stop.3NY Daily News. Green Bay Woman Taylor Schabusiness Found Guilty in Gruesome Murder, Dismembering of Ex-Boyfriend
After Thyrion died, Schabusiness used a bread knife to dismember and decapitate him. The medical examiner later estimated the process took hours.4FOX 11. Autopsy Reveals Gruesome Details in Taylor Schabusiness Trial She also sexually abused the body, conduct that would later support the third-degree sexual assault charge.5Court TV. Judge Denies Schabusiness Motion to Drop Sexual Assault Charges She placed remains in plastic bags and cardboard boxes throughout the basement and inside a minivan parked at the property, and set his head in a five-gallon bucket covered with a towel.
How the Body Was Found
Around 2:30 a.m. on February 23, 2022, Thyrion’s mother, Tara Pakanich, was awakened by the sound of a door slamming. She went downstairs to check on her son, could not find him, and noticed a bucket in the basement with a towel over it. She lifted the towel and found his severed head.6FOX 11. Trial Begins for Woman Accused of Gruesome Green Bay Murder and Dismemberment Her boyfriend, Steve Hendricks, called 911. Officers secured the scene and recovered additional remains from the basement and the minivan.
Dane County Medical Examiner Dr. Vincent Tranchida determined the cause of death was strangulation and the manner homicide. He documented decapitation, dismemberment, evisceration of internal organs, and transection of the torso. One of Thyrion’s feet had been placed inside his chest cavity, and his back had been “filleted.”7The Independent. Taylor Schabusiness Trial
The Arrest and Confession
Schabusiness was arrested that same day, February 23, 2022, at an apartment on Eastman Avenue. In a recorded police interview, she confessed to the killing and the dismemberment. Investigators noted she laughed while describing what she had done.8Court TV. Taylor Schabusiness Confesses to Murder in Recorded Police Interview She told detectives they would “have fun trying to find all of the organs” and said she had gathered knives intending to keep body parts but “got lazy.”7The Independent. Taylor Schabusiness Trial DNA testing confirmed that blood on the sweatpants she wore at her arrest was Thyrion’s.
Analysts also recovered searches from her cell phone for “Jeffrey Dahmer,” “cadaver,” and “Satan.”4FOX 11. Autopsy Reveals Gruesome Details in Taylor Schabusiness Trial Journalist Anne Schwartz, who had covered the original Dahmer case in 1991, reported that sources close to the investigation described Schabusiness as having an “infatuation” with Dahmer.9WBAY. Green Bay Murder Suspect Had Interest in Jeffrey Dahmer, Journalist Says
Brown County prosecutors charged her with first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse, and third-degree sexual assault. A court commissioner set cash bond at $2 million.10FOX 19. Graphic Discovery of Severed Head Leads to Arrest of Woman in Grisly Wisconsin Killing She pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.
The Path to Trial
The case took more than a year to reach a jury. Schabusiness underwent repeated competency evaluations, with state and defense experts reaching different conclusions. Her mental health history included a psychiatric hospitalization in seventh grade following a suicide attempt and prior diagnoses of bipolar disorder, ADHD, and PTSD. She reported abusing alcohol, methamphetamine, acid, cocaine, and Xanax. She also had a 2020 conviction for battery on a law enforcement officer, which classified her as a repeat offender.11Court TV. Court Documents Reveal Taylor Schabusiness’ Past
Judge Thomas Walsh first ruled her competent after a hearing on May 19, 2022.12WBAY. Experts Give Testimony in Green Bay Murder, Dismemberment Case On February 14, 2023, during a hearing at which the judge had just agreed to delay the trial for a new evaluation, Schabusiness lunged at her own attorney, Quinn Jolly, in the courtroom. A deputy wrestled her to the ground. Jolly withdrew and was replaced by attorney Christopher Froelich.13Wisconsin Law Journal. Woman Accused in Dismemberment Slaying Attacks Her Attorney Judge Walsh ruled her competent again on July 21, 2023, days before trial.
The Verdict and Insanity Phase
Trial began July 24, 2023, in Brown County Circuit Court. Tara Pakanich testified early, describing how she found her son’s head. Jurors also heard from responding officers, the medical examiner, forensic analysts, a state crime lab DNA expert, and a friend who had been with the pair earlier that evening.14Green Bay Press-Gazette. Schabusiness Trial Begins With Testimony From Victim’s Mother, Police Prosecutors played the recorded confession and displayed her Dahmer-related search history.7The Independent. Taylor Schabusiness Trial
On July 26, 2023, the jury deliberated roughly 50 minutes before returning guilty verdicts on all three counts.15Court TV. WI v. Taylor Schabusiness: House of Horrors Murder Trial
The trial then moved to a second phase on the insanity defense. Defense forensic psychologist Diane Lytton testified that Schabusiness was “psychotic, suffering visual and auditory hallucinations,” citing a 2021 mental institution commitment and earlier ADHD and depression diagnoses. Prosecution psychologist Matthew Seipel disputed the bipolar diagnosis, saying her symptoms improved during forced sobriety and that evaluators had flagged her for potentially exaggerating symptoms.16WBAY. Taylor Schabusiness Trial Moves to Second Phase Discussing Her Mental State Under Wisconsin law, voluntary drug use does not qualify as a mental disease or defect. On July 27, 2023, after about an hour of deliberation, the jury unanimously rejected the insanity plea.17FOX 11. Taylor Schabusiness Trial Insanity Plea
The Life Sentence
On September 26, 2023, Judge Walsh sentenced Schabusiness to life without parole on the homicide count, plus consecutive terms totaling 18 additional years for the sexual assault and corpse-mutilation convictions.18WBAY. Schabusiness Sentenced to Life in Prison
Prosecutor Caleb Saunders asked for no parole eligibility, quoting Schabusiness’s own words from her pre-sentence investigation: “I don’t have any regrets about what I did and I do not feel remorseful for Shad.” Defense attorney Christopher Froelich argued his client was “not a monster” and asked the court to leave open the possibility of rehabilitation. Judge Walsh rejected that, saying the crime “offends human decency” and that he had “run out of superlatives” to describe it. Asked whether she wished to speak, Schabusiness answered, “No, there isn’t.”18WBAY. Schabusiness Sentenced to Life in Prison
Thyrion’s uncle, Kelly Thyrion, told Schabusiness there was “no excuse” for what she did and said he would pray she met the same fate as “your idol, Jeffrey Dahmer.”19We Are Green Bay. Shad Thyrion’s Uncle Gives Powerful Statements During Schabusiness Sentencing His father, Michael Thyrion, offered forgiveness and told her he believed she could still “be a better person.”20FOX 11. Taylor Schabusiness Sentencing
Where the Case Stands Now
Schabusiness filed a notice of appeal in November 2024. Her appointed appellate attorney, Gregory Petit, filed a no-merit report. On June 18, 2025, she sent a handwritten letter to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals voluntarily withdrawing the appeal and asking for time to file a post-conviction motion. The court dismissed the appeal the next day and gave her until August 18, 2025, to file any post-conviction motion on her own, without state-appointed counsel.21Green Bay Press-Gazette. Court of Appeals Dismisses Taylor Schabusiness Homicide Appeal
She has continued to accumulate charges while incarcerated at Taycheedah Correctional Institution. In July 2024 she attacked a nurse and a correctional officer during a medical visit and was charged in Fond du Lac County with felony battery by a prisoner. At an April 2025 preliminary hearing, she lunged at another attorney, Curtis Julka, and was removed from the courtroom.22Court TV. Taylor Schabusiness Due in Court on Charges She Attacked a Prison Guard In October 2025 she accepted a plea deal, pleading no contest to an amended charge of misdemeanor disorderly conduct, and received the maximum 90 days in jail, to run consecutively to her life sentence.23WBAY. Taylor Schabusiness Serving Life in Prison to Be Sentenced for Attacking Prison Officer