Wife of Minnesota DOC commissioner charged with attempted murder of vulnerable adult son

MN prison head's wife charged with attempted murder

Julie Louise Myhre-Schnell, 64, is facing a charge of premeditated first-degree attempted murder for allegedly putting anxiety medication in her son's feeding bag in hopes that he would "go to sleep forever," according to court records.

VADNAIS HEIGHTS, Minn. (FOX 9) - The wife of a top Minnesota state official is charged with trying to kill their vulnerable adult son.

The charge

She is the wife of Paul Schnell, the Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Corrections.

The couple is currently separated after filing for divorce in 2023.

What we know

The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office was alerted on June 13 of an attempted homicide at a group in Vadnais Heights involving Myhre-Schnell’s vulnerable adult son.

Myhre-Schnell allegedly told multiple people that she had attempted to kill her son by adding anxiety medication into his feeding bag, "hoping he would go to sleep forever."

When speaking with Myhre-Schnell, she allegedly explained to investigators that she filled her lorazepam prescription and crushed up the pills before adding it to a container of water. She then brought that container with her to visit her son on Dec. 3, 2023 and emptied the contents into the feeding bag before leaving.

Her son was taken to the hospital the following day after having symptoms of "altered mental status, decreased level of responsiveness, and hypotension." Doctors diagnosed him with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure, but they did not run a toxicology report on his blood.

The victim survived the ordeal, and after learning what his mother allegedly had done, he told investigators, "I made it, I’m still here."

Court records also show Paul Schnell filed for an emergency restraining order against his wife in June after learning she had tried to kill their son with an overdose of medication in December.

Records also show Paul Schnell called the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office as soon as he found out about the attempted murder from Myhre-Schnell's sister.

In her own words

"The whole time, I knew I was gonna try to do this," Myhre-Schnell allegedly told investigators.

When asked how she felt about her son being alive, she stated she "completely regretted he survived," charges read.

The criminal complaint explained months after the incident, Myhre-Schnell texted her son that she had hoped he would "go to sleep forever" and allegedly confessed to putting the medication in his feeding bag, charges claim.

Court records say Myhre-Schnell would visit her son on at least a weekly basis, but she never returned to the group home after Dec. 3.