Ex-wife of DOC commissioner pleads guilty to trying to kill their vulnerable adult son

DOC Commissioner’s ex-wife pleads guilty

The former wife of Minnesota Department of Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell has pleaded guilty to trying to kill their vulnerable adult son.

According to the plea agreement, in exchange for 65-year-old Julie Louise Myhre-Schnell’s guilty plea to one count of attempted first-degree murder, prosecutors will waive the aggravating factors in the case.

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Myhre-Schnell is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 7.

The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office responded to a report of an attempted murder at a group home in Vadnais Heights in June of 2024.

Myhre-Schnell had reportedly told multiple people she put anxiety medication in her vulnerable adult son’s feeding bag “hoping he would go to sleep forever.” She later admitted this to investigators.

Her son was brought to the hospital on Dec. 4 and was diagnosed with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. A doctor told police that symptoms of a Lorazepam overdose would include the individual being very sleepy and possible breathing suppression. The hospital did not do toxicology on the victim’s blood.

On Aug. 6, Myhre-Schnell texted her son and admitted to trying to kill him, court documents state.

When asked his reaction to the news, the victim said, “I made it; I’m still here,” but later admitted that his mother’s confession was “heavy” and “a lot to process.”
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