“I wish you no harm”: Victim’s dad speaks out as Taylor Schabusiness is sentenced to life in prison in decapitation death of ex-boyfriend

The Taylor Schabusiness trial came to a close on Tuesday, September 26, 2023, after a judge sentenced her to life in prison, plus 10 1/2 years, without a possibility of parole.

On July 26, 2023, the 25-year-old Wisconsin woman was found guilty of killing and dismembering her 25-year-old boyfriend Shad Thyrion during a meth-fueled s*xual tryst last year. Schabusiness had entered a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease, but a jury found that she wasn’t mentally ill when she killed Thyrion.

On Tuesday Schabusiness appeared in court wearing a spit hood for a sentencing hearing. Authorities said that she was made to wear the mask as she spit on people in jail.

During the hearing, a Brown County judge sentenced Taylor Schabuisness to life in prison. Shortly before announcing the sentence, Judge Thomas Walsh explained his decision, stating that due to the depravity of the crime, civilians had to be protected from the suspect. The judge came to the decision despite the victim’s father pleading for leniency in his impact statement. While addressing Schabusiness, Shad Thyrion's father, Michael, said:

“I know you’ve got a heart. I wish you no harm”

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Details of Taylor Schabusiness' sentencing hearing explored

On Tuesday, Brown County judge Judge Thomas Walsh sentenced Taylor Schabuisness to life in prison, plus 10 1/2 years without a possibility of parole over the decapitation death of her ex-boyfriend Shad Tyrion. Walsh announced the sentence despite many witnesses, including the victim’s father, pleading for leniency.

During the sentencing hearing, Shad Thyrion's father, Michael, told Schabusiness he forgave her for taking his son’s life. Michael said that he believed Taylor Schabusiness has the potential to do better in life and hoped she would be granted the opportunity to do so.

"I believe everybody makes bad choices and maybe not to this scale but I think there is a lot of hope for you," he said. "I think you can make sure of your time and be a better person and do great things yet..”

Furthermore, several witnesses, including Schabusiness' father, grandmother and cousin, testified on behalf of the suspect, detailing her traumatic childhood where she lost her mother and brother at a young age. Schabusiness grandmother Esther Coronado defended her granddaughter, saying that she was not a monster but a loving mother who deserved to see her son.

"I know that she committed a crime and I know that they want her to pay for it, but I believe that she should have the opportunity to come back to society one time and be with her son."

However, Judge Thomas maintained that due to the atrocious nature of the crime that went beyond human understanding, he believed Taylor Schabusiness could not be rehabilitated.

"These actions are foreign to all that community and they shock the community beyond the ability to adequately express in words they really do," Walsh said. "And that's the gravity of this offense. That is the gravity of this offense."

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In February 2022, during a meth-fuelled tryst, Taylor Schabusiness, 25, strangled Thyrion, 24, before s*xually assaulting his body. She then continued to dismember his body and dumped his head in a bucket, which was later found by the victim’s mother.

During a three-day trial, Taylor Schabusiness was found smirking in the courtroom as prosecutors laid out the gruesome murder scene where the victim’s organs were found scattered in his basement and his feet were found inside his chest cavity.

On Tuesday's hearing, Prosecutor Caleb Saunders, while asking for no parole, said that Schabusiness killed Shad Thyrion because she got a sick pleasure from it. Saunders even recited the suspect’s statements following the crime, where she told authorities she was not remorseful for taking the victim’s life.