WAUSAU − A 28-year-old Wisconsin Rapids man charged with ordering a “hit” on a Marshfield man killed in 2020 was sentenced March 3 in Marathon County Circuit Court to seven years in prison.
Steven A. Crandall pleaded no contest to conspiracy to commit first-degree intentional homicide in connection with the December 2020 death of Christopher Schauer of Marshfield. No contest means Crandall was not admitting he committed the crime but was acknowledging there was likely enough evidence to convict him.
Marathon County Circuit Judge Gregory Strasser found Crandall guilty of the charge and sentenced him to the seven years in prison with credit for 715 days already served. Strasser also sentenced Crandall to 15 years of extended supervision to follow his prison sentence. Strasser ordered the sentence to be served consecutive to any other sentence Crandall is serving.
According to the criminal complaint, Crandall contacted Wood County investigators after news of Schauer’s death became public and asked to speak to Marathon County detectives. Crandall told the detectives he didn’t kill Schauer but played a major role in his death, according to the complaint.
Crandall said Schauer had been stealing from his illicit drug business in late November or early December 2020, taking Xanax and Percocet pills from his dealers, according to the complaint. Crandall said a friend took him to Chicago to make the arrangements and he agreed to pay $5,000 for the “hit.”
On the afternoon of Dec. 29, 2020, a fur trapper found Schauer’s body in the McMillan Marsh Wildlife Area in the Marathon County town of Spencer. He had been fatally shot.
Police arrested Shawn R. Carl, 55, and his son, Jared R. Carl, 24, both of Eau Pleine, after a witness told police that Shawn Carl was trying to sell a car identical to Schauer’s missing vehicle, according to the complaint. Police found the missing car on the Carls’ Eau Pleine property.
Audrey R. Benson, 25, of Marshfield, told detectives she and Schauer had gone to Chicago the weekend before his death and that when they came back, Jared Carl told her he’d been paid to “beat up” Schauer, according to the complaint.
The following day, Dec. 29, 2020, Benson, Jared Carl and Schauer went for a ride in Schauer’s car to smoke marijuana. They drove to the McMillan Marsh Wildlife Area and Jared Carl shot Schauer, according to the complaint. Benson said she had walked into the woods to go to the bathroom and didn’t know what Jared Carl was going to do, but the evidence at the crime scene didn’t match her story, according to the complaint.
Shawn Carl then helped his son and Benson hide Schauer’s car, according to the complaint.
Jared Carl said he took pictures of Schauer’s body and sent them to a friend. Crandall said he saw pictures of Schauer’s body to verify his death prior to paying the $5,000, according to the complaint.
Marathon County Circuit Judge Suzanne O’Neill sentenced Benson May 3, 2022, to four years in prison and three years of extended supervision for being a party to the crime of hiding a corpse.
O’Neil sentenced Shawn Carl Feb. 6, 2023, to six months in jail and four years of probation for harboring a felon, obstructing an officer and possessing a machine gun. He was sentenced Oct. 30, 2025, to three years in prison and four years of extended supervision for violating his probation.
O’Neill sentenced Jared Carl to life in prison with the possibility of applying for release after serving 35 years for first-degree intentional homicide.
Contact Karen Madden kmadden@usatodayco.com. Follow her on Twitter @KMadden715, Instagram @kmadden715 or Facebook at www.facebook.com/karen.madden.33.
This article originally appeared on Wausau Daily Herald: Wisconsin Rapids man gets 7 years for ordering ‘hit’ on Marshfield man
Reporting by Karen Madden, Wausau Daily Herald / Wausau Daily Herald
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