Judge finds clerk's killer not guilty by reason of mental illness
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
A Hennepin County judge on Thursday found a Minneapolis man not guilty by reason of mental illness in the killing of Robert Skafte, a retired professional dancer who worked at a neighborhood grocery store near Loring Park.
A grand jury indicted Taylor Justin Schulz, 47, on a count of first-degree premeditated murder in Skafte’s death.
According to court documents, Schulz choked, punched and kicked Skafte, 66, after approaching him at the checkout of Oak Grove Grocery on Dec. 8, 2023. Schulz then beat Skafte with a golf club that was kept behind the counter before stabbing him with its broken shaft. Skafte died at a hospital.
Schulz lived in an apartment across the street from the store. Police arrested him after a six-hour standoff. Witnesses said that Schulz had previously assaulted other residents of the building.
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
A court paused criminal proceedings against Schulz while he received mental health treatment. A forensic psychologist determined in April that Schulz’s health had improved to the point where he was legally competent to participate in his defense and understand the court proceedings.
A court-ordered mental health examination found that Schulz suffers from bipolar type schizoaffective disorder and alcohol use disorder.
Following a bench trial, Judge Michael Burns determined that prosecutors proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Schulz killed Skafte, but the judge also found Schulz not guilty because at the time of the killing he “was laboring under such a defect of reason as not to know the nature of the act constituting the offense with which he is charged or that it was wrong.”
Burns based his decision on three independent psychological evaluations.
At a news conference Thursday, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said that Schulz remains under civil commitment at the state’s Forensic Mental Health Program in St. Peter, formerly known as the Minnesota Security Hospital, and could spend the rest of his life there.
"Mr. Schulz is not being returned to the community. He has been civilly committed indefinitely to a secure facility."
Moriarty also noted that it’s extremely rare for a criminal defendant to successfully pursue a mental illness defense.
“Plenty of people struggle with mental health. Plenty of people are [legally] incompetent. A fraction of those people would ever meet the legal standard for not guilty by reason of insanity,” Moriarty said.
