A man who killed his three daughters has put in a plea of insanity as his trial starts Monday. Last week Aaron Schaffhausen, pleaded guilty to killing his three daughters: Amara, 11, Sophie, 8, and Cecilia, 5 but put forth mental illness as an explanation for the crime.
According to the Associated Press , prosecutors allege otherwise, and believe that Schauffhausen was fully aware of his actions and was angry over his recent divorce from his wife Jessica, who had recently begun seeing another man. Aaron Schauffhausen has entered in a plea of mental insanity for killing his three daughters last year.
A jury in Wisconsin will determine whether his defense attorney has met the burden of proof for the plea. The prosecution maintains that Schauffhausen was fully aware of his actions and was retaliating against his ex-wife, who had recently begun to see someone new. It was a grisly scene when authorities entered his home in River Falls, Wisconsin in July.
There they found the bodies of his three daughters, their throats slit, and gasoline sprayed all across the basement. Allegedly, Schauffhausen was intending to set the home on fire. Currently, he faces charges of first-degree intentional homicide and arson. A jury will determine whether or not to accept his plea of mental insanity. Selection begins Monday in the St. Paul, Minnesota.
Should the jury determine that Schauffhausen is indeed mentally insane, then he will likely be sent to a psychiatric institution, instead of possibly spending life behind bars.
