Man accused of impaling grocery store clerk with golf club found insanity

Robert Skafte, 66, who is accused of spearing the grocer, was declared fit to stand trial.

Previously, 45-year-old Taylor Justin Schulz had already been declared insane several months earlier.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the next court date had not yet been set.

As previously reported, Schulz is accused of brutally killing Skafte on December 8, 2023.

Surveillance video from Oak Grove Grocery showed Schulz entering the store, grabbing something from an aisle, then walking to the cash register. “Almost immediately after approaching the cash register, the defendant walked around the cash register and physically assaulted the victim by repeatedly kneeing and striking her,” the documents state.

Schulz then pulled a golf club from behind the counter and hit Skafte with it until the club head broke off. He then impaled Skafte with the broken club shaft, court documents say.

Someone from the apartment building across the street told police that Schulz ran into the building around the time of the crime with a bloody face and clothes. Schulz was later arrested after a standoff that lasted for hours.

According to Minnesota court records, Schulz was taken into civil custody in 2021 because he was “at risk” due to a “serious mental illness.”