Twisted desires

The night was thick with humidity, the kind that clings to your skin and makes the air feel heavier than it should. Inside a cramped apartment on River Street, the ceiling fan spun lazily, barely stirring the stale air.

Angela sat cross-legged on the floor, her fingers tracing the edge of a cigarette burn on the carpet. Across from her, Sean leaned back against the peeling wallpaper. His eyes half-lidded, lost in the slow haze of the drugs they had taken that night. They were high on methamphetamine.

They were two people who shared a universe of bad decisions. They were both thrill-seekers, both drug addicts, both trapped in the kind of existence that made the rest of the world seem unreal.

“I trust you,” Sean murmured, exhaling smoke.

Angela smirked. “That’s your first mistake.”

They had been playing this game for weeks now, pushing limits, seeing how far they could go before one of them broke. But tonight, Angela had something different in mind. She reached for the belt on the floor, winding it around her fingers.

“Let’s try something new.”

Sean didn’t flinch when she wrapped the belt around his neck. Perhaps he thought it was a joke, perhaps he thought it was foreplay, or perhaps he simply didn’t care. His whole life had been a series of close calls. a collection of nights where he danced on the edge of something dark and dangerous.

But this time, Angela didn’t let go.

The moment stretched and Sean’s lazy expression shifted, first to confusion, then panic. His hands clawed at the belt, his legs kicking out against the floor. But Angela only tightened her grip, her breathing steady, her eyes unblinking. She watched the life drain from him like it was a science experiment.

When it was over, silence settled. She sat back, staring at his body. For a long time, she didn’t move.

***

The silence after Sean stopped moving was heavier than the air in the room. Angela sat there for a long time, naked, staring at his face, at his mouth slightly open, his eyes unfocused. Death had softened him, stripped away all the things that made him a person, what made him human.

She reached out and touched his cheek. They were still warm.

A thrill ran throughout her body.

It wasn’t guilt. Not even fear. Just a strange, hollow curiosity.

She tilted her head, studying him the way a child might study a broken toy.

In life, Sean had been unpredictable, full of chaotic energy, always talking, always moving, always fun to be around. But now? He was still. Silent. And the control, the total, undeniable control Angela felt was intoxicating.

Her gaze drifted to the sharp butcher’s knife on the table.

She hadn’t planned this. Not really. But now that she had crossed the threshold, she found herself wondering with a curiosity she hardly could contain.

“What’s inside him?” Her eyes were diabolical.

The thought didn’t disgust her. It intrigued her.

Angela reached for the knife without hesitation.

The first cut was clumsy. The blade skidded along his arm before sinking in, flesh parting with surprising ease. A crimson ribbon welled up, trickling down to the floor.

She expected to feel something, revulsion, horror, regret, sadness; a sign she was a human being with a heart, feelings, emotions. Something! After all, they had been pals for years, schoolmates, intimate lovers. But she felt nothing. There was only fascination.

She adjusted her grip and tried again, pressing harder. The blade sliding in smoothly this time. Her dark diabolical eyes marveled at the way the body gave way under her hands. It wasn’t like the movies. Not like the movies they watched together many times before when intoxicated with meth and alcohol, the same as that night. There was no sudden gush of blood, no dramatic spurt. Just a slow, warm seep, like something melting.

As she worked on his body, a strange thought occurred to her: He’s just meat now. Not different than dismembering a chicken before putting it into a pot to make chicken soup. That’s what he was now. Meat, just meat.

Not Sean. Not a person. Just meat.

Her lips curled into a slow smile of satisfaction.

She moved methodically, sawing through tendons, peeling back skin, separating muscle from bone. Separating a foot from the rest of the body, and then his genitalia. Once she found the right rhythm, it was easier than she expected. Her hands were slick with his blood, her arms aching from the effort, but she didn’t stop.

She lost track of time.

At some point, she had removed his arms, setting them aside like discarded puzzle pieces, like chicken wings. His hands still looked human. His fingers curled slightly, like they might twitch at any second.

The head was the hardest part.

She had to struggle with it, twisting and pulling, working the knife deeper into the soft tissue of his neck. When it finally came loose, there was a sickening pop, like a cork being pulled from a bottle.

Angela laughed.

She sat back on her heels, wiping sweat from her forehead, smearing blood across her skin. The apartment was a mess, blood pooling in the carpet, pieces of Sean spread out around her like the aftermath of a butcher’s shop.

And yet, she felt calm.

More than that, she felt good. She liked the feeling.

There was no panic, no regret. Just a deep, almost meditative satisfaction.

She wasn’t crazy. She knew what she had done was wrong. But she also knew something else:

She would do it again.

Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But eventually.

Because now that she had tasted this feeling, this god-like power, this thrill of taking something apart piece by piece, she knew nothing else in the world could ever compare.

Angela exhaled, stretching her arms over her head.

She had work to do. She had to clean up the mess.

But first, she wanted to sit and admire her handiwork.

*****

Author’s note:

This story is a work of fiction inspired by the Taylor Schabusiness true crime court case. Whilst I have taken creative liberties, I have maintained the dark, psychological essence of the real crime event. This fictionalised version captures the psychological horror and disturbing nature of the real-life case while offering a more introspective look into the mind of the perpetrator.

***

In 2023, Taylor Schabusiness, a 25-year-old woman from Green Bay, Wisconsin, was convicted for the February 2022 murder and dismemberment of her lover, Shad Thyrion (24). On the night of the incident, after consuming methamphetamine, Schabusiness and Thyrion engaged in sexual activities involving erotic asphyxiation. Schabusiness strangled Thyrion to death with a dog chain and subsequently dismembered his body, dispersing some of the remains throughout his mother’s residence, leaving his head and genitalia in a bucket later found by Mrs. Thyrion.

In July 2023, a jury found Schabusiness guilty of first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse, and third-degree sexual assault. The jury also determined that she was not mentally ill at the time of the crime.

On September 26, 2023, Schabusiness was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. During the sentencing, Judge Thomas Walsh emphasised the need to protect the public, stating that the crime “offends human decency, it offends human dignity, it offends the human community.”

Taylor Schabusiness is currently serving her life sentence at the Taycheedah Correctional Institution in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Shocking details of the murder revealed: Taylor Schabusiness trial, day two:

Medical examiner explains with diagrams decapitation, disemboweling, castration, and dismembering of victim in Taylor Schabusiness’ murder trial:

Taylor Schabusiness’ sentencing:

Dangers and side effects of consuming meth:

Methamphetamine (Meth) is a lab-made (synthetic and man made) stimulant with high addiction potential. Meth is a potent and extremely dangerous drug that has serious side effects on the body and causes long-term brain damage. The drug rewires the brain inducing euphoria and hyperactivity which are reversed to their opposite as the drug wears off.

Taylor Schabusiness committed her horrific murder whilst under the effects of meth, ending both his lover’s life and hers at the young age of 24 and 25. It takes a split second to make the wrong choice that can end in tragedy. The court ruled she made the decision to take the drug and was fully responsible for her actions.