Taylor Schabusiness scowled and stared down the jury as she was convicted of murdering and dismembering her lover, sexually assaulting his corpse and then dumping his head in a bucket for his mother to find.
Jurors in Brown County, Wisconsin, took just over 30 minutes on Wednesday to find the 25-year-old guilty on all counts of first-degree intentional homicide, mutilation of a corpse and third-degree sexual assault in the shocking murder of her former boyfriend Shad Thyrion.
As the verdict was read out, Schabusiness scowled and sipped water from a cup.
She then turned in her chair and glowered at the jury as each panel member was asked by the judge if the verdict was true and correct.
Throughout the harrowing three-day trial, the panel heard gruesome testimony of how Schabusiness strangled Thyrion in a meth-fuelled sex tryst back in February 2022.
After killing him at the home he shared with his mother in Green Bay, Schabusiness confessed to police that she continued having sex with his corpse.
She then gathered kitchen knives with the intention to dismember Thyrion and keep all of his body parts, prosecutors said.
“But she got lazy” partway through the dismemberment and dumped his severed head inside a green bucket.
His torso, penis and carved-out organs were found scattered in the basement of the home while one of Thyrion’s feet had been shoved into his chest cavity.
Jurors heard how, after butchering his body, Schabusiness proceeded to use a bucket and a tote bag to collect Thyron’s blood, which she then used to shower with.
Thyrion’s devastated mother later found her son’s severed head in the bucket when she returned home.
Following her arrest, Schabusiness allegedly confessed to killing Thyrion and gloated that officers would “have fun trying to find all of the organs,” according to the criminal complaint.
Taylor Schabusiness scowls as the verdict is read out— (Law&Crime)
“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,” it reads.
“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.”
Prosecutors said that the gruesome murder was premeditated, revealing that Schabusiness had made a series of chilling internet searches in the lead-up to it – including “Jeffrey Dahmer walking into court all sexy” and “Jeffrey Dahmer’s butt”.
During her three-day trial – starting on Monday – she was seen smirking as the grisly details of the killing came to light. At one point, she also appeared to make a gun finger gesture.
Schabusiness had initially entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity but a court-appointed physician found her competent to stand trial.
In February, she attacked her previous attorney during a court hearing forcing a deputy to wrestle her to the courtroom floor.
Schabusiness now faces life in prison on the charges.
