WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — The man who is said to have put a bounty on the head of Christian Schauer before he was killed has been scheduled for trial 14 months from now.
Court records show Steven Crandall had a nine-day trial scheduled for January 21st to the 31st, 2025. Investigators say he ordered the hit because Schauer stole some prescription pills that Crandall was looking to sell. The 25-year-old then offered a $5,000 reward for Schauer’s death, which was carried out by Jared Carl.
Carl was sentenced to life in prison for homicide in December 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 Schauer’s body.
Carl’s father, Shawn, was also charged with 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.
The 53-year-old Carl was given a withheld prison sentence for those counts in February 2023. That includes a six-month stay in the Marathon County Jail with work-release privileges and four years of probation.
Officials had initially charged Shawn Carl with killing Schauer, but testimony from Benson pointed to Jared pulling the trigger instead.
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The case against Crandall is scheduled for a hearing next month (December 18th.) After that, the matter will sit idle for eight months until a motion hearing on August 14th.
A jury status hearing is then set for mid-December 2024.
Crandall is currently being held in the Waupun Correctional Institute on a two-year prison sentence for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
