FOND DU LAC − A former Taycheedah inmate was sentenced Monday, July 28, to life in prison without the possibility of release for the July 2023 death of her then-cellmate, Cindy Schulz-Juedes.
Taylor L. Sanchez, 29, currently an inmate at Fond du Lac County Jail, will spend the rest of her life in prison for first-degree intentional homicide for the death of Schulz-Juedes, 68, formerly of Wausau.
Fond du Lac County Circuit Court Judge Tricia Walker also ordered Sanchez to pay $4,196 restitution.
Court documents show Sanchez was represented by attorneys Michael J. Queensland and Cassandra J. Van Gompel during the July 28 sentencing while Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney prosecuted.
What crime was Cindy Schulz-Juedes convicted of?
In June 2022, Marathon County Circuit Court Judge Michael Moran sentenced Schulz-Juedes to life in prison for the 2006 death of her husband, Kenneth Juedes, a rural pharmacist.
A jury had found Schulz-Juedes guilty Oct. 26, 2021. Court documents revealed Kenneth Juedes had been shot twice on Aug. 29, 2006, with a 20-gauge shotgun as he slept in his bed.
Schulz-Juedes continued to say she was innocent of the crime until her death on July 19, 2023.
The case was featured in a November 2022 episode of NBC’s “Dateline.”
Read more: ‘Dateline’ to feature case of Marathon County pharmacist killed while he slept
What does the criminal complaint state about the death of Cindy Schulz-Juedes?
According to the criminal complaint, on July 19, 2023, Sanchez called staff using the intercom system at Taycheedah Correctional Institution and told staff she believed she had killed her cellmate.
Officers from the Fond du Lac Police Department responded to the prison. Staff said, after Sanchez’s call, they responded to the cell and found Schulz-Juedes dead. Staff had placed Sanchez in an isolation cell.
When Schulz-Juedes was killed, Sanchez was serving a 3-1/2-year prison sentence for battery by a prisoner and threatening an officer. That sentence was handed down Aug. 11, 2022, by then-Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Bruce Schroeder.
What did witnesses state about the July 19, 2023, death of Cindy Schulz-Juedes?
A witness told a detective she heard Schulz-Juedes yell, but it wasn’t a full word. The witness then smashed her right fist into her left palm and said she heard the noise she made four times, according to the complaint. She said she then thought she heard a possible grunt.
The witness said at first she thought the two women were “farting around.” But she then continued to smash her fist into her palm. She said Sanchez was hitting Schulz-Juedes for about two minutes.
The witness said she thought she heard between 60 and 70 punches, according to the complaint.
The witness said she thought someone was getting hurt, but no one else in the wing seemed to notice, so the witness thought it was her imagination. She said after more noises, someone in one of the cells asked, “Hey, are you guys OK?” Then asked, “Cause what’s that noise?” There was no answer to the questions, but the noises kept on.
A second witness said the sounds coming from Schulz-Juedes and Sanchez’s cell sounded like someone crunching coffee to make it diffuse more in the water, according to the complaint. She said there was no yelling, screaming, fighting or any other noises.
A third witness said she heard what sounded like someone kicking somebody. She said “it was so awful” and “You could just hear the contact with something, over and over.”
What did surveillance video show regarding Cindy Schulz-Juedes’ death?
Cindy Schulz-Juedes appears for her preliminary hearing Dec. 13, 2019, at the Marathon County Courthouse in Wausau. She is charged with 2006 homicide of her husband Kenneth Juedes.
Officers checked the surveillance video and saw Schulz-Juedes enter her cell and close the door behind her at 4:38 p.m. A few seconds later, they saw Sanchez enter the cell.
At 4:54 p.m., a corrections sergeant opened the cell door and let Sanchez out. Sanchez walked to the interior of the building to a desk, got a bag from the sergeant and went back into the cell, closing the door.
At 4:58 p.m., a female corrections officer delivered a letter to the cell by sliding it halfway under the door. At 5:16 p.m., the letter disappeared. At 5:46 p.m., corrections officers arrived at the cell.
What does the criminal complaint state about how Cindy Schulz-Juedes was killed?
A corrections sergeant asked Sanchez what she had used in the attack and she said her hands and feet, according to the complaint. Sanchez said she heard voices telling her to kill Schulz-Juedes.
An autopsy revealed Schulz-Juedes had too many skull fractures to count, according to the complaint. She had rib fractures, bruises and lacerations to her arms, chest and abdomen. She also had choked on blood.
Contact Karen Madden at 715-345-2245 or kmadden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KMadden715, Instagram @kmadden715 or Facebook at www.facebook.com/karen.madden.33.
This article originally appeared on Wausau Daily Herald: Former Taycheedah inmate gets life without parole for death of Cindy Schulz-Juedes