Steven Crandall
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — The man who is said to have put a bounty on the head of Christian Schauer before he was killed by Jared Carl has entered a not guilty plea.
Steven Crandall is facing one count of being a party to the crime of homicide on Wednesday and is being held in the Marathon County jail on a half-million dollar cash bond. Investigators say he wanted Schauer dead because he had stolen some prescription pills that Crandall was intending to sell, offering a $5,000 reward.
Crandall has claimed that he arranged the hit through an acquaintance, and did pay after he saw pictures of Schauer’s body.
He returns to court on September 27th for a pre-trial conference. Trial dates have not been set.
Wednesday’s action comes one day after Jared Carl was sentenced to life in prison for killing Schauer in December of 2020. He will be eligible to apply for parole after 35 years, at which time he will be in his mid-50s. A second person, Audrey Benson, is also serving prison time for hiding a corpse.
Carl’s father, Shawn, will go to trial in February for charges of being a party to the crime and obstructing an officer. Investigators say he helped hide Schauer’s vehicle and failed to cooperate with the investigation.
Officials had initially charged Shawn Carl with killing Schauer, but testimony from Benson pointed to Jared pulling the trigger instead.
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