Wisconsin Rapids man pleads not guilty to ordering 'hit' on Marshfield man who was killed in Spencer
WAUSAU – A 24-year-old Wisconsin Rapids man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to paying $5,000 to order the murder of another man who he says stole drugs from him.
Steven A. Crandall, who currently is in Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun, faces a charge of being a party to the crime of first-degree intentional homicide in connection with the December 2020 death of Christopher Schauer of Marshfield.
Jared R. Carl, 21, of Eau Pleine, was sentenced Monday to life in prison with the possibility of release after 35 years, for first-degree intentional homicide in the death of Schauer. Audrey R. Benson, 21, of Marshfield, was sentenced May 3 to four years in prison and three years extended supervision for being a party to the crime of hiding a corpse. Jared Carl's father, Shawn Carl, 51, of Eau Pleine, is scheduled for trial in February on charges connected to Schauer's death.
According to the criminal complaint, Crandall contacted Wood County investigators after news of Schauer's death became public and asked to speak to Marathon County detectives. Crandall told the detectives he didn't kill Schauer but played a role in his death, according to the complaint.
Crandall said Schauer had been stealing from his illicit drug business in late November or early December 2020, taking Xanax and Percocet pills from his dealers, according to the complaint. Crandall said a friend took him to Chicago to make the arrangements and he agreed to pay $5,000 for the "hit."
On the afternoon of Dec. 29, 2020, a fur trapper found Schauer's body in the McMillan Marsh Wildlife Area, in the Marathon County town of Spencer. He had been shot.
Police arrested Shawn and Jared Carl after a witness told police that Shawn Carl was trying to sell a car identical to Schauer's missing vehicle, according to the complaint. Police found the missing car on the Carls' Eau Pleine property.
Benson told detectives she and Schauer had gone to Chicago the weekend before his death and that when they came back, Jared Carl told her he'd been paid to "beat up" Schauer.
The following day, Dec. 29, 2020, Benson, Jared Carl and Schauer went for a ride in Schauer's car to smoke marijuana. They drove to the McMillan Marsh Wildlife Area, and Jared Carl shot Schauer. Benson said she had walked into the woods to go to the bathroom and didn't know what Jared Carl was going to do, but the evidence at the crime scene didn't match her story, according to the complaint.
Shawn Carl then helped his son and Benson hide Schauer's car, according to the complaint.
Jared Carl said he took pictures of Schauer's body and sent them to a friend. Crandall said he saw pictures of Schauer's body to verify his death prior to paying the $5,000, according to the complaint.
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Contact Karen Madden at 715-345-2245 or kmadden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KMadden715, Instagram at @kmadden715 or Facebook at facebook.com/karen.madden.33.
This article originally appeared on Marshfield News-Herald: Wisconsin Rapids man pleads not guilty to ordering 'hit' on man
