VADNAIS HEIGHTS, MN (trfnews.i234.me) – The former wife of Minnesota Department of Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell has pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted murder in the December 2023 poisoning of her disabled adult son.
Julie Louise Myhre-Schnell, 65, admitted to crushing her prescription Lorazepam and placing it in her 34-year-old son’s feeding bag at his Vadnais Heights group home, later telling investigators she hoped he would “go to sleep forever.”
Prosecutors agreed to drop aggravating factors that could have increased her sentence, despite the victim’s severe disabilities, including spina bifida and reliance on a wheelchair, ventilator, and 24-hour care.
The complaint says Myhre-Schnell confided to others she wanted to end her son’s life, claiming he had suffered for months from complications related to kidney stones and infection. She told investigators she “completely regretted he survived” and admitted she intended to kill him.
Her son was hospitalized the next day with low oxygen levels, decreased responsiveness, and low blood pressure, but no toxicology test was performed. He survived and later told investigators, “I made it, I’m still here,” though the news was “a lot to process.”
Myhre-Schnell and Schnell had separated in May 2023, and she filed for divorce two days before the poisoning. The victim had been living in the group home since 2021 and said he enjoyed his life there, including volunteering weekly at the zoo.
Sentencing is pending.
I’m Chris Harper reporting for TRF News.