By Shereen Siewert
Three suspects accused in the December shooting death of 20-year-old Christian Schauer, of Marshfield, appeared in court Monday to face new charges in the case after a dramatic change in the investigation.
Jared Carl, 19, now faces charges of first-degree intentional homicide, taking and driving a vehicle without the owner’s consent, resisting or obstructing an officer and possession of THC in connection with Schauer’s death and is being held on a $1 million cash bond. Schauer’s body was discovered Dec. 29 by a fur trapper.
Previously, Carl claimed his father shot Schauer in an argument over marijuana. But now, prosecutors say he and a co-defendant, Audrey Benson, lured Schauer to a remote area on false pretenses after Carl said there was a “price on the victim’s head.”
After arriving at the south end of Abe Lincoln Avenue in Spencer, just south of Swamp Road, Carl allegedly shot Schauer multiple times before leaving his body at the side of the road and driving the victim’s vehicle away from the scene.
Benson, of Marshfield, was previously held on preliminary charges of being party to the crime of first-degree intentional homicide. Now, after new information surfaced, Benson faces charges of hiding a corpse and of harboring or aiding a felon. During an initial appearance March 8 in Marathon County Circuit Court, Judge LaMont Jacobson ordered her held on a $50,000 cash bond.
On February 9, Jared’s father, 50-year-old Shawn R. Carl, was arrested on charges of first-degree intentional homicide for the death of Christian Schauer and for possession of a fully automatic rifle. But those charges were modified March 8 as a result of the new revelations. Shawn Carl now faces charges of harboring or aiding a felon, a significant reduction from the initial charges filed against him.
During an initial appearance Monday, Shawn Carl’s attorney asked for a $5,000 bond, down from the $1 million bond ordered in February. But Schauer’s mother told Judge Jacobson she objected to such a low bond given that Shawn Carl knew about her son’s death for more than a month and said nothing to police.
Judge Jacobson noted that Shawn Carl drove to Menard’s to buy a tarp to hide Schauer’s vehicle, which was found on his Stratford property after a citizen tip, and said the nature of the crime and the strength of the evidence supported a higher bond. Shawn Carl is now being held on a $50,000 cash bond.
All three suspects remain in custody as of Monday and have review hearings set for March 12.
