Wife of Minnesota DOC commissioner Paul Schnell accused of trying to kill their vulnerable adult son

MINNEAPOLIS — The wife of Minnesota Department of Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell is accused of trying to kill their vulnerable adult son by drug overdose.

According to a complaint filed in Ramsey County, Julie Louise Myhre-Schnell, 64, of St. Paul faces one felony count of first-degree attempted murder. She was charged by warrant. 

An investigation into Myhre-Schnell began in June after the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office learned of an attempted homicide last December at a group home in Vadnais Heights. Myhre-Schnell allegedly told multiple people that she tried to kill her son by putting anxiety medication in his feeding bag "hoping he would go to sleep forever."

On June 15, an investigator spoke with Myhre-Schnell about her confessions and she admitted to trying to kill her son, the complaint said. She allegedly told the investigator that she crushed up Lorazepam pills and put them into a "slurry" of water in a container to bring to her son's facility.

According to the complaint, Myhre-Schnell put the mixture into her son's feeding bag on Dec. 3. He was taken to the hospital the next day due to "altered mental status, decreased level of responsiveness, and hypotension," the court document said. One of the diagnoses given was acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. Medical records showed that no toxicology was completed on the victim's blood at the hospital.

A source close to the case tells WCCO that the victim does not appear to have suffered any lasting health effects from the alleged overdose attempt.    

In her interview with the investigator, Myhre-Schnell allegedly said that she "completely regretted" that her son survived.

After obtaining a search warrant, the investigator confirmed that Myhre-Schnell had refilled her Lorazepam prescription two days before the alleged crime. The investigator also collected screenshots of Myhre-Schnell's messages to family members where she confessed to the crime, the complaint said.

Court documents show that she texted her son in early August, confessing she tried to kill him. He told investigators, "it was heavy" and "it's a lot to process." 

In an email to WCCO, Paul Schnell said, "It would be inappropriate for me to comment under the circumstances." His divorce attorney confirmed that she is his estranged wife. 

If convicted, Myhre-Schnell could face up to 20 years in prison.