Inset: Julie Myhre-Schnell (Ramsey County Jail). Background: The area in Ramsey County where Myhre-Schnell’s son’s group home was located (Google Maps).
A Minnesota judge has sentenced a 65-year-old mother to three years in prison for attempting to murder her adult son with special needs, significantly less than the nearly two-decade term prosecutors had sought.
Julie Myhre-Schnell admitted to trying to kill her son, who is confined to a wheelchair, by mixing crushed anti-anxiety medication into his feeding bag at the group home where he resides. In July, Myhre-Schnell pleaded guilty to one count of attempted first-degree murder related to the incident that took place in December 2023. As part of a plea agreement, the charge that the victim was “particularly vulnerable” was dismissed.
Prosecutors pushed for an 18-year sentence, citing it as the maximum under sentencing guidelines, as reported by the Minnesota Star Tribune. However, the judge opted for a significantly shorter term, a decision that prosecutor Ron Hocevar strongly criticized, emphasizing the gravity of attempting to murder her own child.
“Before pleading guilty, the defendant showed minimal remorse and even expressed regret that her son survived,” Hocevar noted. “A 36-month sentence for attempted murder undermines public confidence in the justice system.”
The judge did not provide a detailed explanation for the reduced sentence, although Myhre-Schnell’s son had requested leniency on her behalf.
At the time of her arrest in August 2024, Myhre-Schnell was undergoing a divorce from Minnesota Department of Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell. Following her arrest, their divorce was finalized, and Schnell sought a protective order for himself and the victim, as per the Star Tribune.
As Law&Crime previously reported, the attempted murder took place on Dec. 3, 2023, according to a probable cause affidavit. The victim, whose name was not released by authorities, is wheelchair-bound with spina bifida and needs a ventilator as well as round-the-clock care.
He was receiving that care at Regency Home Care in Vadnais Heights, within Ramsey County, when Myhre-Schnell tried to kill him with a Lorazepam overdose. She was “hoping he would go to sleep forever,” authorities said, quoting from one of several text messages in which she confessed to the crime.
Documents said the victim told investigators that “he liked his residence and had everything he needed” and “talked about his friends and what he enjoys doing in his spare time, including volunteering weekly at the zoo.”
The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office said that Myhre-Schnell not only “admitted to multiple people,” including the victim, that she crushed up her Lorezepam pills and tried to kill her son, but also provided additional details to investigators when questioned.
“On June 15, 2024, Investigator Hughes spoke to Defendant about her confessions. During this Mirandized statement, Defendant admitted she did in fact attempt to kill Victim in December 2023. Defendant stated she refilled her Lorazepam prescription at the beginning of the month and received 31 pills,” the complaint said. “Investigator Hughes was able to confirm that Defendant had visited Victim at his group home on Dec. 3, 2023.”
“Defendant admitted that she crushed up the remaining Lorazepam pills and put them into a ‘slurry’ of water in a container to bring to the facility. Defendant brought the ‘slurry’ in its container, carrying it in her pocket, until she emptied the container into Victim’s feeding bag that night prior to leaving,” the complaint continued.
According to investigators, Myhre-Schnell said that “the whole time, I knew I was gonna try to do this” and that “all night, I was like, am I really doing this? Am I doing this? Am I doing this? I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
Authorities said Myhre-Schnell recalled thinking “I’m going to go to jail,” worried about a toxicology report implicating her after the victim survived respiratory failure, and said she “completely regretted he survived.”
“I was worried about them finding out through the toxicology, and I was probably trying to figure out what I’m going to do. I’m just going to go to jail,” Myhre-Schnell told authorities.
By July 2024, authorities said, evidence also showed that two days prior to the attempted murder, the defendant refilled her Lorazepam prescription. But what investigators say happened in early August, just weeks before Myhre-Schnell’s arrest, is even more shocking.
“On Aug. 6, 2024, Defendant texted Victim, confessing to him that she put her medicine in his feeding bag hoping he would ‘go to sleep forever,’” the complaint said. “Investigator Hughes received copies of these messages. Victim texted Defendant that he was ‘on the fence’ about deleting her number. In response to Investigator Hughes question about how Victim was feeling after learning about what happened, he responded, ‘I made it, I’m still here.’ In describing his reaction to Defendant’s confession, Victim stated ‘it was heavy’ and ‘it’s a lot to process.’”
Local Fox affiliate KMSP reported that Myhre-Schnell was experiencing mental health issues in the months before the crime.
