Former Wife of Minnesota Department of Corrections Commissioner Sentenced for Attempted Murder of Disabled Son
The former wife of the commissioner of Minnesota’s Department of Corrections, Julie Louise Myhre-Schnell, was sentenced to three years in prison for attempting to kill her adult son, who is disabled, by crushing up her prescription anxiety medication and emptying it into his feeding bag at his group home in Vadnais Heights.
An emotional Myhre-Schnell, 65, apologized in court, stating she is “so incredibly sorry to everybody” for putting Lorazepam and water in Paul Francis Schnell’s feeding bag on December 3, 2023. The incident occurred just two days after she filed for divorce from her husband, DOC Commissioner Paul Schnell.
The Scott County Attorney’s Office had requested the maximum 18-year sentence, while the victim and Myhre-Schnell’s two daughters asked that she not be sent to prison. In a statement, Schnell wrote that his mother “was a good mom, and she is a good person,” and that “she did one bad thing and that doesn’t make her bad.”
Julie Louise Myhre-Schnell (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)
Background and Investigation
Myhre-Schnell pleaded guilty in July to first-degree attempted murder and faced between 12¾ and 18 years in prison under state sentencing guidelines. The presumptive sentence was a 15-year term. Her attorney, assistant public defender Carole Finneran, argued that she should receive seven to 10 years of probation and community work service, citing her client’s acceptance of responsibility and “sincere remorse.”
Assistant Scott County Attorney Michael Hayek addressed Myhre-Schnell’s son’s desire that his mother not go to prison, stating that state law “does not allow for victims to be in control of the case.” Hayek also noted that Myhre-Schnell showed remorse “when it became necessary or beneficial,” but not when her son was hospitalized and doctors were searching for answers.
Sentence and Reaction
In granting a downward departure, Judge Joy Bartscher said the case was less serious than the typical charge of attempted murder, and that the sentence was “appropriate based on the facts.” Myhre-Schnell received credit for 22 days already served in custody. However, Scott County Attorney Ron Hocevar stated that the judge’s sentence “is completely inappropriate,” given that Myhre-Schnell “systematically tried to kill her disabled son — her own child.”
Myhre-Schnell spoke in court about her struggles with anxiety and depression, and how she tried to take her own life in May 2024. She said she was “desperate” and “tired” of her son’s “shoddy” care at his group home, and that she “couldn’t bear the thought of my son lingering without proper care.”
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