Man charged in fatal golf club impalement at Minneapolis grocery store ruled incompetent for trial
Justice will have to wait for the family of a Minneapolis man killed in a grisly way last month. The man accused of using a golf club to fatally impale a Minneapolis grocery store employee has been found mentally incompetent to stand trial on a murder charge.
Judicial Officer Danielle Mercurio on Tuesday ruled on the mental competency evaluation of Taylor Justin Schulz, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.
Schulz, 44, was charged with second-degree murder in the death of 66-year-old Robert Skafte on Dec. 8. Officers responded to Oak Grove Grocery and found the victim behind the counter "with a golf club impaled through his torso," police said at the time. Skafte died at a hospital.
Skafte was a clerk at the store for nearly two decades and also an acclaimed ballet dancer. Schulz lived in an apartment across the street. Court records show Schulz had been evicted a week before the killing and had previously assaulted other apartment residents.
Mercurio's decision was based on the opinion of a psychological examiner. Schulz has a history of mental illness.
"We have no reason to dispute the examiner's opinion," Schulz's public defender, Emmett Donnelly, said in a statement.
A message was left Wednesday with the Hennepin County Attorney's Office.
Schulz remains jailed on $1 million bond. His case could be referred for civil commitment proceedings.
Schulz has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and self-reported post-traumatic stress disorder, according to court records. He has received treatment and services through Veterans Affairs in the past.
Schulz was civilly committed for six months in 2021, when a doctor found he was at "unacceptably high risk of further psychiatric deterioration unless strong support is given," the newspaper reported, citing court documents.
This doesn't mean however that he'll never go to trial. Another evaluation of his mental capacity will happen in July, along with further research into his medical history. But even if this case does go to trial, there's another layer of competence to be determined.
"At some point though, assuming somebody does become competent to proceed today, 'OK, I'm ready to help my lawyer and proceed to trial,' you then can revisit at that point, 'OK, he might be good today, but were you insane legally at the time of the crime occurence,'" Defense attorney Marsh Halberg explained, about whether someone can be found not guilty by rule of insanity once a case makes it to trial.
At that point, more psychological experts can be called in to evaluate the suspect, specifically what their mental state was when the crime occurred.
Schulz will remain at the Hennepin County Jail. It's possible he could be civilly committed to a mental health facility for treatment in order to reach competency. And if he is later found competent, the county attorney's office says it will immediately resume proceedings in this case.