A Wisconsin woman who allegedly strangled her lover with a chain and then dismembered his body attacked her attorney in court on Tuesday, all of it caught on camera.
Taylor Schabusiness, 25, was sitting at the defense table along with lawyer Quinn Jolly when she suddenly stood up and began striking Jolly with her handcuffed hands, the Associated Press reports.
Jolly attempted to block the blows using his hands and was able to distance himself from his client before a deputy intervened and wrestled Schabusiness to the floor, according to footage from NBC 26.
“Stop it,” the deputy told Schabusiness. “Stop it.”
For about a minute, Schabusiness fought with the deputy using her arms and legs before back-up court security arrived. She soon calmed down and after several minutes, the deputies escorted the orange-clad Schabusiness out of the Green Bay courtroom
Moments prior to the incident, Brown County Circuit Judge Thomas Walsh had ruled that Schabusiness’ trial would be delayed from March 6 to May 15. Jolly had told the judge that he needed more time for an expert witness to prepare to testify.
Authorities allege that Schabusiness killed and sexually abused Shad Thyrion on February 23, 2022, for which she faces charges of first-degree intentional homicide, mutilation of a corpse and sexual assault. She has pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.
Police found Thyrion’s head inside a bucket at his mother’s home. Schabusiness allegedly confessed to investigators that she and Thyrion had sex while high on meth before she fatally choked him using a chain.
Schabusiness allegedly shared with police that Thyrion’s body parts were in the basement and that they would “have fun trying to find all of the organs,” according to the criminal complaint.
The court found Schabusiness competent to stand trial last year. Jolly has said he plans to conduct another competency examination, in part because Schabusiness has bipolar disorder and has been treated for her mental health since middle school.
At the conclusion of Tuesday’s hearing, Jolly said he would seek to withdraw from the case to no longer represent Schabusiness, according to the AP.
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[Featured image: Taylor Schabusiness/Brown County Jail]