Ex-wife of Minnesota corrections commissioner pleads guilty to trying to kill disabled son

The former wife of Minnesota Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell has admitted she tried to kill their disabled adult son with a potentially lethal dose of medication in late 2023.

Julie Louise Myhre-Schnell, 65, of St. Paul, agreed in Ramsey County District Court last week to plead guilty to first-degree attempted murder in connection with putting anti-anxiety medication in Paul Francis Schnell’s feeding bag in his Vadnais Heights group home on Dec. 3, 2023, in hopes that he would “go to sleep forever,” read the criminal complaint, filed in August 2024.

The plea deal was reached between the defense and the Scott County Attorney’s Office, which handled the case to allow the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office to avoid the appearance of an unspecified conflict of interest. The deal includes no agreement on what sentence Myhre-Schnell will receive, but prosecutors have agreed to drop their effort to cite an aggravating factor that could have led to a maximum 20-year term.

The aggravating factor the prosecution raised was her son, now 34 years old, was “particularly vulnerable due to age, infirmity, or reduced physical or mental capacity.”

Absent any aggravating factors, guidelines call for a sentence ranging from 12¾ to 18 years, with a presumed term of 15 years. Whatever sentence Myhre-Schnell will receive, she can expect to serve the first two-thirds of that time in prison and the balance on supervised release.

Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 7. In the meantime, Myhre-Schnell remains free after posting $50,000 bail.

Paul Schnell, who was named corrections commissioner in January 2019, is sole guardian of Paul Francis Schnell. He filed a petition for an order for protection in late June 2024 against Myhre-Schnell on behalf of himself and his son. The petition cited her admissions that she tried to kill their son — which he reported to the Sheriff’s Office — and her attempt to kill herself with a drug overdose.

The text said their son, who as an infant joined the family as a foster child, “has considerable medical issues” that include spina bifida and a malformed brain stem. The filing added that he requires a wheelchair, a ventilator and 24-hour care.

Myhre-Schnell filed for divorce two days before their son’s alleged poisoning at Regency Home Care. The divorce has since been finalized.

According to a 2019 Star Tribune profile, the Schnells have four adult children. As part of Paul Francis Schnell’s care, his parents founded a 24-hour nursing company.

According to the criminal complaint:

A sheriff’s investigator received a report on June 13, 2024, that Myhre-Schnell had told people that she tried to kill her son months earlier. Two days later, Myhre-Schnell admitted the same to the investigator.