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Tara Pakanich is the mother of Wisconsin murder victim Shad Thyrion.
According to a criminal complaint, she discovered her son’s head in a bucket in the basement; a married mother named Taylor Schabusiness is now accused of the strangulation and mutilation homicide and is standing trial in a Brown County, Wisconsin, courtroom.
Although Pakanich was identified only by her initials in the criminal complaint, she testified in court and is named in his obituary. Online records say that Pakanich is 49-years-old and lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Schabusiness was found guilty by the jury, which also rejected her insanity plea. “Jury finds that at the time the crimes were committed the defendant DID NOT have a mental disease or mental defect. Court adjudges defendant guilty on all 3 counts,” online court records say. She will be sentenced on September 26, 2023.
Thyrion’s obituary says that Shad Rock Thyrion, 24, “passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday, February 23, 2022. Shad was born September 7, 1997, in Green Bay, Wisconsin to Tara Pakanich and Michael Thyrion. Shad attended Howard/Suamico schools as a child and later worked with his father and grandfather at their family businesses.”
The details in the criminal complaint are extremely graphic and disturbing.
Here’s what you need to know about Tara Pakanich:
Tara Pakanich Found Her Son’s Severed Head in a Bucket in Her Basement, the Complaint Says
FacebookTaylor Schabusiness in a Facebook photo.
In the early morning hours of February 23, 2022, an officer was dispatched to a residence in the City of Green Bay, Wisconsin, “for a report of a severed head being found in a bucket in the basement,” the complaint says.
The detective met with the victim’s mother, identified as only TP in the criminal complaint. She said that she last saw her son alive on February 21, 2022, when Schabusiness picked him up.
According to the complaint, Pakanich’s boyfriend had seen the pair return and go into the basement on February 22, 2022, and the mother heard a storm door slam in the early morning hours of February 23. That’s when she noticed a bucket next to the bottom of the stairs and discovered the head of the victim, the complaint says.
The officer confirmed there was a head in the plastic bucket on the floor at the bottom of the basement stairs, covered with a towel, according to the complaint. Police found Thyrion’s legs in a crock pot in a van Schabusiness had driven, the complaint said.
Authorities believe Schabusiness strangled Thyrion and then had sex with his body, according to the complaint. The basement was strewn with bags and a tote containing other body parts, it says.
Tara Pakanich Took the Witness Stand During the Taylor Schabusiness Trial & Is Also Seen in Police Body Cam Video
Pakanich testified during the trial, describing how she found her son’s head in the bucket. Her boyfriend, Steve Hendricks, also testified about calling 911.
Pakanich described how she woke up when she heard a door slam and went to check on her son. When she didn’t find him, she noticed the bucket and lifted the towel off to discover his head inside it, the Green Bay Press Gazette reported.
“I figured (Shad) was sleeping,” she told jurors, according to the Green Bay Press Gazette. “I wanted to go back to sleep. I went to go back upstairs, there was a bucket there. That’s where I found Shad.”
In the 911 call, Hendricks told police that his girlfriend “swears that she found the severed head of her son in the basement.”
Both Hendricks and Pakanich spoke to responding police in body cam footage that was played during the trial.
“I opened the towel,” Hendricks told an officer in the video. “I picked up the towel and dropped it because I don’t know what the f*** it is, man. I have bad vision and she’s like: ‘Is that what I think it is?’ I don’t f****** know.”
According to the obit, “Shad enjoyed camping, games and spending time with his family. He was a very kind and compassionate person who often thought of others before himself. A talented artist, he also enjoyed wood carving.”
The obituary noted: “Shad is survived by his mother Tara Pakanich, father Michael Thryion, sister Ava Wheelock, sister Cilivea Sunray Thyrion, and brother Beau Smith, grandparents Becky and Steve Fisher, grandfather David J. Pakanich, grandmother Elaine Williquette, and many aunts/uncles, nieces/nephews, cousins and friends.”
A GoFundMe page was set up to help Thyrion’s mother with living expenses during the trial.
“Last February, as many of you know, our family suffered an unimaginable and tragic loss of Shad. This week the trial will finally begin after many delays,” the post says.
“My cousin Tara, Shad’s mother, has taken an indefinite amount of time off to be at the trial. This also comes with a financial loss and it breaks my heart for her to go through this living hell, We am hoping to help raise funds to help off set the loss of income during this difficult time. If you feel compelled to help it is greatly appreciated otherwise, we humbly ask for prayers, lots of prayers, justice for Shad and hopefully some closure and healing ❤️ ”
READ NEXT: More About Taylor Schabusiness.