WARNING: The following story is extremely graphic and disturbing.
A Wisconsin woman has pleaded not guilty to the murder of her lover — who she is accused of strangling to death with chains before decapitating him, cutting his “male organ” off, and dismembering him.
Taylor Schabusiness, 24, claims she performed sex acts on the lifeless body of Shad Thyrion, 25, for several hours after the murder.
Schabusiness is married with a young baby boy, but her husband is incarcerated on unrelated charges. It does not appear that she had custody of the infant at the time of the murder.
On the night of February 22, 2022, Schabusiness picked up Thyrion at his mother’s Green Bay area home. She later told police that they had smoked weed, done methamphetamines, and “shot up” the anti-depressant trazadone.
Later that evening, they returned to the mother’s house and went to the basement. The woman claims that “within five minutes,” the victim had pulled out two chains that were similar to dog choke collars to be used during sexual activities.
During a police interview following her arrest, Schabusiness admitted to Detective Alex Graf that she could feel the victim’s heart beating as she choked him, but kept pulling the chain harder. She said that Thyrion “wouldn’t die” and kept “rebuilding into muscle.”
Schabusiness said that she enjoyed choking him and asked the detectives “if they knew what it was like to love something so much that you kill it.”
According to the criminal complaint, Schabusiness described Thyrion “lying face down on the bed with her on top of him pulling on the end of the chain. 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.”
Schabusiness told the detective that she believes that it took three to five minutes for Thyrion to die. She said that when he began to cough up blood she just kept going because she wanted to “see what happens.” She also claimed that she blacked out at one point while he was still alive, but that when she came to, he was already purple — so she continued.
When asked when she knew that he wasn’t alive anymore, the woman explained that his face had turned purple and blood was coming out of his mouth — but that she still did not stop choking him at that point. She told detectives that after she was very sure he was dead she “played with his body” — performing oral sex on him and using a dildo in his mouth and rectum.
“Schabusiness stated she played with the Victim’s body for like two to three hours, which included sucking his penis and putting the dildo in his mouth and anus. Detective Graf clarified with Schabusiness that she was in the basement with the Victim all during the day of Tuesday into Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, and then dismembered the Victim’s body,” the complaint says.
The complaint continued, “Schabusiness stated that she had the Victim’s body on the bed in the basement and she pulled him to the edge of the bed and put the black bucket underneath the Victim’s head as she was cutting the head off. Schabusiness also talked about using a bucket and a tote to catch the Victim’s blood and that she would use the shower in the basement to dump out the bucket. Schabusiness was asked if she thought it was the right thing to do, and Schabusiness’ comment was that she did it anyway, referring to killing the Victim.”
On February 23, 2022, at about 3:25 a.m., the victim’s mother called the police to report that she found her son’s decapitated head in a bucket in her basement.
“Also located in the same bucket was a male organ, along with body fluid and two knives. Other body parts were found in the basement in other bags, including plastic shopping bags, along with three knives, including a bread knife consistent with kitchen knives,” the complaint said.
Schabusiness was located by police outside of her apartment a short time later and appeared to still be covered in blood.
After being taken into custody, Schabusiness was asked by Detective Graf if she and the victim had contact with anybody when they first got back to the house.
The woman replied, “damn the head” and “I can’t believe I left the head though.”
The detective then asked where the rest of the body was and she claimed it was still in the basement.
“Schabusiness responded that the police were going to have fun trying to find all of the organs as she dismembered the body. 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. 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,” the criminal complaint explains.
The leg was found inside of a Crockpot box.
Detective Graf asked how Schabusiness dismembered the body and she stated she used knives that from the mother’s kitchen and that a bread knife worked the best because of the serrated blade. She explained that her intention was to bring all of the victim’s body parts with her, but “got lazy” and only ended up putting the leg and foot in her van, forgetting the head.
Schabusiness told police that she did not plan to kill the victim, but just enjoyed choking him so she kept doing it until he was dead. She said that the reason she was not “prepared” to dispose of the body was because the murder was “random.”
The final public post on her Facebook profile, a little more than one month before the murder, states, “went off and told an addict ‘I’ll never stop buying you dope, so I could sit back watch you die.'”
Schabusiness has been held on $2 million bail since her arrest. She has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse, and third-degree sexual assault.
If convicted of the homicide charge, she faces life in prison. The charge of mutilating a corpse carries sentence of up to 12½ years in prison and a $25,000 fine, and the third-degree sexual assault charge can carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.
A psychologist hired by the court, Dr. Deborah Collins, found Schabusiness fit to stand trial.
Schabusiness was arrested twice in Brown County, Wisconsin, in 2020.
“She was arrested in June 2020 and charged with battery or threat to a law enforcement officer, a felony, and resisting or obstructing an officer. Schabusiness was found guilty after pleading no contest, records show. She was sentenced to three years of probation and 60 days in jail, according to court records,” according to a report from Heavy. “In August 2020, Schabusiness was charged with bail jumping and resisting an officer. The bail jumping charge was dismissed as part of the June case. Also in August 2020, she was charged with misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, resisting an office and felony fleeing from an officer in a vehicle. She was sentenced to two years probation in that case.”
Her birth name was Taylor Denise Coronado, but she changed it to Taylor Schabusiness in 2018.
