Man charged with murder of Loring Park grocery store worker found incompetent to stand trial
MINNEAPOLIS — The man accused of using a golf club to fatally impale a grocery store worker has been found incompetent to stand trial.
Taylor Schulz was charged with second-degree murder in the death of 66-year-old Robert Skafte on Dec. 8 2023. Last week he was also indicted on first-degree murder charges.
Back in July, Schulz was found competent to stand trial. However in September of this year, a judge ordered a second competency evaluation. The evaluation was held Tuesday afternoon, where Schulz was found incompetent to stand trial.
In December 2023, officers responded to Oak Grove Grocery where they could Skafte "with a golf club impaled through his torso," according to police at the time. Skafte later died at the hospital.
At the time, Schulz had lived close the grocery store but had been evicted a week before the killing, according to court records.
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," according to court documents. He's also been diagnosed with schizophrenia and has received treatment and services through Veterans Affairs in the past.
Schulz is scheduled for another hearing later this month.
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress, get help from the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. Trained crisis counselors are available 24 hours a day to talk about anything. In addition, help is available from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI. Call the NAMI Helpline at 800-950-6264 or text "HelpLine" to 62640. There are more than 600 local NAMI organizations and affiliates across the country, many of which offer free support and education programs.