MINNEAPOLIS — A 44-year-old Minneapolis man is now charged with murder in a vicious attack on a popular grocery store clerk and neighborhood resident.
A criminal complaint filed Monday lays out the allegations against Taylor Justin Schulz, who is now charged with second-degree murder in the fatal attack on 66-year-old Robert Skafte as he worked at the Oak Grove Grocery.
Minneapolis police were dispatched to 218 Grove St. on reports of a physical assault on an employee. When they arrived officers found Skafte laying on the ground behind the sales counter with severe blunt- and sharp-force injuries to his head and face. He had also been impaled through his torso with the broken shaft of a golf club. Skafte was rushed to a nearby hospital but did not survive.
A witness who works at the Oak Groves Towers apartment building across the street from the store told investigators that they observed a resident, soon identified as Taylor Schulz, run into the apartment building with blood on his face and clothing. An apartment on the 16th floor was identified as Schulz's.
When police knocked on the apartment door Schulz reportedly yelled at them to "go away" and refused to let them in. Prosecutors say there was a standoff of approximately six hours before the defendant opened the door and was taken into custody.
Surveillance video recovered by homicide investigators reportedly shows Schulz enter the store, walk down an aisle and approach the counter. Police say the video captures the defendant attacking Skafte almost immediately, kneeing and punching the victim repeatedly. The complaint says the attack then escalated, with Schulz choking, punching and kicking Skafte as he tried to get away.
Finally, prosecutors say, Schulz found a golf club behind the store counter and struck Skafte in the head with it eight times before the head finally broke off. At that point, the complaint alleges, the defendant took the broken golf club shaft and stabbed Skafte over and over, impaling him through the torso before walking out of the store.
Prosecutors note that while Schulz and his alleged victim are about the same height, the defendant outweighed Skafte by about 100 pounds. Witnesses in his apartment building reportedly told police he had previously assaulted other residents.
The complaint says investigators executed a search warrant on Schulz's apartment and recovered the clothing the defendant wore during the fatal attack. They believe he was attempting to wash the blood off with a bar of soap.
Robert Skafte was an acclaimed dancer and actor who was also dedicated to his community. Friends and customers say he "was passionate about gardening, about art, about friendship." He had worked at Oak Grove Grocery for two decades, and was a champion of the community garden and farmers market in Stevens Square.
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