A Wisconsin father accused in the grisly triple homicide of his three young daughters last summer changed his pleas Thursday to guilty but maintained his insanity claim. Aaron Schaffhausen, 35, had pleaded not guilty in January, but switched his plea after more than a day of delays and legal wrangling about what kind of evidence will be allowed at his trial, which starts next week.
Change of heart: Aaron Schaffhausen, 35, changed his plea to guilty on Thursday last week, admitting that he killed his three young daughters while maintaining he shouldn't be held responsible because he was insane. Apathetic: Schaffhausen, right, spoke without emotion while responding to Judge Howard W. Cameron's, left, question regarding his change of plea.
The mother of the three slain girls was in the courtroom for the second straight day. Jury selection is to begin Monday in St. Croix County Circuit Court. Schaffhausen, who moved from River Falls and took a construction job in Minot, North Dakota, after splitting from his wife, Jessica, is charged with three counts of first-degree intentional homicide and one count of attempted arson. The maximum penalty for each murder count is life in prison without parole or extended supervision.
The maximum sentence for attempted arson is 20 years, according to the Hudson Star-Observer. Police found his daughters, year-old Amara, 8-year-old Sophie and 5-year-old Cecilia, dead in their beds.
Their throats had been slit, and gasoline had been poured in the basement. Manacled: Schaffhausen was shackled at his ankles in a St. Croix County Courtroom as he sat for a hearing Thursday. Prosecutors allege Schaffhausen did it to get back at his former spouse, because he was bitter over their divorce and angry because he thought she had begun seeing another man.
