Taycheedah inmate charged with killing cellmate Cindy Schulz-Juedes makes first court appearance

FOND DU LAC COUNTY — Taylor Sanchez, 28, made a first appearance in court Jan. 29, charged with the homicide of a Taycheedah Correctional Institution inmate last summer.

Cindy Schulz-Juedes, 68, was found unresponsive in her cell July 19, and died that day from head trauma, among multiple other injuries, according to the criminal complaint.

Sanchez, her cellmate, was referred for a homicide charge in September following investigation.

Detectives learned Schulz-Juedes and Sanchez were locked in the cell at the time of the incident, and Sanchez had called TCI staff using her intercom to tell them she believed she had killed her cellmate, according to the complaint. Witnesses from the surrounding cells reported hearing banging, hitting or crunching sounds and moaning.

During the investigation, Sanchez said she had used her hands and feet to hit Schulz-Juedes because she was hearing voices telling her to kill her cellmate. The complaint included a call between Sanchez and her mother, during which she said she had stopped taking her medication and "started hearing voices again," believing Schulz-Juedes was using her belongings to clean the toilet and the floor.

Sanchez has remained in custody with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, and a cash bond was set for $1 million Jan. 29. The next court date is a status conference scheduled for March before Fond du Lac County Judge Andrew Christenson.

Schulz-Juedes was from the town of Hull. She was sentenced to life in prison in 2022 for the death of her husband in 2006, and was in the process of appealing her conviction when she died. Her attorneys filed a motion in June to extend the time limits for the appeal, which had been granted.

Contact Daphne Lemke at dlemke@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Fond du Lac Reporter: Taycheedah inmate charged with killing cellmate Cindy Schulz-Juedes