The man who brutally killed a beloved Minneapolis grocery store clerk with a golf club in 2023 has been found not guilty by reason of mental illness, a ruling Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty acknowledged may cause “dismay and confusion.”
A judge found Taylor Schulz not guilty by reason of mental illness in the December 2023 killing of 66-year-old Robert Skafte, who was working behind the counter at Oak Grove Grocery in Minneapolis’ Loring Park neighborhood when he was attacked.
“This means that the judge found that at the time he killed Robert Skafte in December of 2023, Taylor Schulz was so mentally ill that he did not know the nature of his act, or that it was wrong,” Moriarty said during a press conference following the Sept. 10 ruling.
Moriarty stressed that the ruling does not mean the court determined Schulz did not kill Skafte.
“There is no doubt that Taylor Schulz killed Robert Skafte. None,” she said.
A brutal attack inside neighborhood grocery store
As Alpha News previously reported, Minneapolis police responded to Oak Grove Grocery shortly before 1 p.m. Dec. 8, 2023, after receiving a 911 call about an assault inside the store.
According to the criminal complaint, surveillance video showed Schulz enter the store, walk behind the counter and begin attacking Skafte.
Schulz punched and kicked Skafte before choking him and striking him repeatedly with a golf club, according to the charges.
The attack continued after the head of the golf club broke off. Schulz allegedly stabbed Skafte with the broken shaft before eventually impaling him through the torso.
Skafte died at the scene.
Police arrested Schulz following an hours-long standoff at a nearby apartment building
Moriarty used her remarks following the court ruling to remember Skafte as far more than the victim of a gruesome crime.
“Robert was a beautiful dancer,” she said, noting that he spent 10 years with the Kansas City Ballet before moving to Minneapolis and continuing his dancing career.
A longtime Loring Park resident and avid gardener, Skafte co-founded LaSalle Community Gardens in 1997 and the Stevens Square Farmers Market in 2008, according to Moriarty. He later participated in the Master Gardener Program through the University of Minnesota Extension.
“He helped run Oak Grove Grocery, and it’s clear he made a tremendous impact on so many people’s lives,” Moriarty said.
She said people who knew Skafte consistently described him as “the kindest, sweetest person” who would stop what he was doing to listen to friends and strangers alike.
‘Not guilty’ does not mean he didn’t do it
Moriarty explained what she described as a rare and potentially confusing outcome in the case.
When a defendant asserts mental illness as a defense, she said, the court must answer two separate questions: whether the defendant committed the crime and, if so, whether the defendant met Minnesota’s legal standard for the mental-illness defense at the time of the crime.
“The answer to the first question is absolutely clear,” Moriarty said.
For the second question, the judge relied on three independent psychological evaluations, all of which concluded Schulz met Minnesota’s legal requirements for the defense.
Moriarty said the standard is “among the highest in the nation” and that a finding of not guilty by reason of mental illness is “really quite rare.”
Schulz had initially been found incompetent to stand trial, temporarily halting the case, but was later restored to competency after receiving treatment. Moriarty stressed that competency to stand trial is separate from the mental-illness defense, which considers a defendant’s mental state at the time of the crime.
“These evaluators were looking at Mr. Schulz’s state of mind at the time he killed Robert Skafte,” she said.
Schulz could remain confined for life
Despite the not-guilty finding, Schulz is not being released.
He is currently civilly committed as mentally ill and dangerous at the Minnesota Security Hospital, a locked facility, according to Moriarty.
“Mr. Schulz is not being returned to the community,” she said. “He has been civilly committed indefinitely to a secure facility.”
Unlike a prison sentence with a defined release date, Moriarty said Schulz’s commitment has no predetermined end.
“What that means is, unlike prison, where you get a sentence, and you know exactly when that person will be released, he will remain in the secure hospital, possibly for the rest of his life,” she said.
Moriarty said the ruling resolves Schulz’s legal future but cannot undo the killing that devastated Skafte’s friends, family and Loring Park community.
“Today’s ruling settles Mr. Schulz’s future and protects the community, but it does nothing to repair the harm or the loss experienced by those who loved Robert Skafte,” she said.
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
