Susan Paul, an educator and community volunteer, was killed May 8 in a case now involving a mental-disease plea.
BARABOO, Wis. — Susan Paul spent decades teaching, volunteering, traveling and staying closely involved with her children and grandchildren before authorities say her husband shot her in the parking lot of a Wisconsin nature preserve, a killing that has now led to a pending homicide prosecution shaped by questions about the defendant’s mental condition.
George Paul, 80, was found competent to proceed in Sauk County court in late September and has since entered a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. Court records cited by WMTV show he appeared Oct. 28, waived his preliminary hearing and had the plea entered on his behalf. He faces seven counts, including first-degree intentional homicide in the death of Susan Paul, also 80. The case remains pending, and nothing in the court proceedings reported so far amounts to a finding of guilt.
Susan Paul’s obituary offers a fuller account of the woman at the center of the case than the brief descriptions in police reports. Born Susan Marie Vandenbusch in Green Bay on Jan. 6, 1946, she grew up taking summer trips to Trout Lake with her family and graduated from Green Bay Preble High School in 1964. She attended the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, earned a bachelor’s degree in education and met George there. The couple married in August 1968 and soon moved to Japan during his military service.
While in Japan, Susan taught at the American School in Japan and developed friendships that lasted for decades, her family said. After returning to the United States, the couple raised a family and settled in Madison. Susan worked part time in the Madison Public School District while her children were young, remained involved in their sports and activities and pursued a master’s degree in special education. She later worked at Central Wisconsin Center for 17 years, where her obituary says she and colleagues focused on enriching residents’ lives.
Retirement did not end that pattern of activity. Susan traveled to Alaska, the Caribbean and national parks, skied and hiked, and at one point lived for several years in coastal Georgia, where she taught water aerobics, yoga and stretching classes. When grandchildren arrived, she and George returned to Wisconsin and settled in Prairie du Sac. Her family described a grandmother who kept books, crafts and snacks ready, listened closely to children’s stories and tried to attend their games, recitals, concerts and other events.
She also became involved in the broader Sauk Prairie community. The obituary says she led fitness classes, delivered food through a local Meals on Wheels program, volunteered at Sauk Prairie hospital and participated in a community club, hiking groups, kayaking groups and a book club. Her family remembered her for her warmth and her belief in treating others kindly. She was survived by two children, grandchildren, two brothers and numerous relatives and friends.
That life ended May 8 at Pewitt’s Nest Nature Preserve in the Township of Baraboo. According to the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office, the dispatch center began receiving calls at 2:08 p.m. from people who reported seeing a man pull a woman from a vehicle before shooting her repeatedly and fleeing toward Baraboo. Deputies arrived four minutes later and found the woman dead in the parking lot. The sheriff’s office later identified her as Susan and identified George as the suspect.
The day’s violence did not end at the preserve, authorities said. At 3:10 p.m., a man driving a Kia Carnival minivan entered the parking lot of the Sauk Prairie Police Department, got out and fired several shots into the front door and vestibule. The building was struck, but no staff members were injured. Officers located the minivan as it left the department about a minute later and conducted a traffic stop. The driver was arrested without incident.
Investigators said evidence from the vehicle and both scenes led them to conclude that the driver was the person involved in the fatal shooting at Pewitt’s Nest. George Paul was taken to the Sauk County Jail, and prosecutors later charged him with first-degree intentional homicide and six other counts tied to the two incidents. Those additional charges include intentionally pointing a firearm at a person, two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, reckless use of a firearm, criminal damage to property and discharging a firearm within 100 yards of a building.
The criminal complaint then introduced statements that would become central to public coverage of the case. According to reports based on the document, Paul told investigators that Susan was a “creature” who had been posing as his wife for decades. He allegedly discussed a belief that similar beings were multiplying and trying to take over the world. He also reportedly said he fired at the police department to get the attention of law enforcement. Other reporting on the complaint said he believed Susan had tried to make him a patsy in a financial scam.
Those assertions are allegations about what Paul said after his arrest, not court findings about Susan or about his state of mind. Reporting on the complaint also said Paul acknowledged shooting his wife. Officers allegedly recovered a pistol, Susan’s purse and blood from the minivan. The prosecution’s evidence has not yet been tested at trial, and public reporting does not establish which evidence will ultimately be admitted or how the defense will contest it.
Concerns about Paul’s cognitive condition surfaced almost immediately in court. WMTV reported that he told investigators he was “two years into” an Alzheimer’s journey. At a May bond hearing, his attorney described significant degenerative health conditions and raised concerns about Paul’s ability to manage assets. Judge Blake Duren ordered a competency evaluation. Prosecutors sought $10 million cash bond, the defense proposed $500,000, and the judge set bond at $1 million while restricting Paul from weapons and from leaving Wisconsin if released.
For months, the competency examination was the major procedural issue in the prosecution. A court eventually found Paul competent in late September, clearing the way for the criminal case to continue. That ruling did not determine whether he was legally responsible for Susan’s death. On Oct. 28, Paul waived his preliminary hearing and a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect was entered on his behalf, keeping questions about his mental condition squarely within the pending case.
The contrast between the criminal complaint and Susan Paul’s family account is stark. Investigators say her husband described her after her death through extraordinary and conspiratorial claims, while her obituary describes a 60-year relationship that began in college and a life centered on education, friendship, outdoor activity, service and family. The obituary says relatives were left reflecting on the love she gave them and trying to carry that spirit forward.
The criminal case has not reached a verdict, and no trial date was identified in the reliable sources reviewed as of Nov. 10. George Paul remains accused, not convicted. His competency has been established for purposes of continuing the prosecution, while his mental-disease-or-defect plea is now part of the unresolved proceedings surrounding Susan Paul’s death.
Author note: Last updated November 10, 2026.