Authorities linked a nature-preserve killing and gunfire at a police department before arresting George Paul on May 8.
BARABOO, Wis. — The criminal case against an 80-year-old Wisconsin man now rests on a sequence that authorities say unfolded across two locations in just over an hour: the fatal shooting of his wife at a nature preserve, gunfire directed at a police department and a traffic stop that ended with his arrest.
Six months later, George Paul has entered a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect in the death of 80-year-old Susan Paul. Court records cited by WMTV show that Paul waived his preliminary hearing Oct. 28 and that the plea was entered on his behalf. The development followed a late-September ruling that he was competent to proceed. Paul faces seven criminal counts, led by first-degree intentional homicide, and has not been convicted.
The Sauk County Sheriff’s Office gave the first public account of the events beginning at 2:08 p.m. May 8. Dispatchers received calls from multiple people at Pewitt’s Nest Nature Preserve on County Road W in the Township of Baraboo. Witnesses reported seeing a man pull a woman from a vehicle, shoot her several times and drive away toward Baraboo. Deputies reached the preserve at 2:12 p.m. and found the woman dead in the parking lot. She was later identified as Susan Paul of Prairie du Sac.
The initial response quickly became a search for both a suspect and a vehicle. Deputies gathered descriptions and circulated them to officers in the area, according to the sheriff’s office. At that point, authorities had a fatal shooting at a public natural area and a suspect who had left before deputies arrived. The second major event came before investigators had announced an arrest or publicly identified the people involved.
At 3:10 p.m., a man driving a Kia Carnival minivan entered the parking lot of the Sauk Prairie Police Department, authorities said. He got out and fired several rounds at the department’s front door and vestibule. The building was hit several times. No employee was injured. About one minute after that report, officers located the minivan as it was leaving and made a traffic stop. The operator was taken into custody without incident.
Investigators subsequently said that evidence from the vehicle and the two scenes established that the same man and minivan were connected to both incidents. Authorities identified the driver as George Paul, also of Prairie du Sac. The sheriff’s office initially described the investigation as active and ongoing while saying there was no continuing threat to the community. Paul remained in custody as detectives and prosecutors assembled the allegations that later appeared in a criminal complaint.
That complaint added a far different layer to the case. According to reports based on the document, Paul allegedly admitted to shooting Susan and gave investigators explanations involving conspiracies and a belief that she was not actually his wife. He allegedly referred to her as a “creature” and claimed that beings of that kind were increasing in number and posed a broader threat. He also allegedly said his gunfire at the police building was meant to get law enforcement’s attention. The claims are part of the prosecution’s reported account of his post-arrest statements, not findings of fact by a jury.
Other portions of the complaint described financial suspicions Paul allegedly held about his wife, including a belief that she was trying to make him a patsy in a scam. Reporting on the document also said officers recovered a pistol, a purse and blood from the minivan after his arrest. The public accounts do not establish how each piece of evidence will be used in court, and prosecutors will still bear the burden of proving the criminal charges.
Paul’s mental condition soon became a separate issue from the evidence surrounding the shootings. During early proceedings, his attorney raised concerns about dementia and degenerative illness. WMTV reported that Paul told investigators he was “two years into” what he called an Alzheimer’s journey. His lawyer said in court that Paul suffered from serious degenerative conditions and was not in a position to exercise authority over financial assets. Judge Blake Duren ordered a competency examination.
The competency issue also affected the pace of the case. At a May hearing, prosecutors asked the court to impose $10 million cash bond, while the defense proposed $500,000. Duren set the figure at $1 million. The judge noted both the seriousness of the allegations and reports that Paul might have Alzheimer’s disease or another late-age degenerative brain disorder. Court restrictions also barred Paul from possessing dangerous weapons and from leaving Wisconsin if he were released.
By late September, the court had found Paul competent, according to records cited by local news outlets. That decision meant the prosecution could move forward after months in which his ability to participate in the case had been under review. The ruling did not settle what happened at Pewitt’s Nest, determine his guilt or reject any defense concerning his mental condition at the time of the alleged crimes. It addressed whether he could continue through the court process.
The procedural picture changed again on Oct. 28. Paul appeared in court for what had been described as his preliminary-hearing stage, waived that hearing and had a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect entered on his behalf. He is charged with first-degree intentional homicide, 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.
Susan Paul’s life extended far beyond the parking lot where authorities say she was killed. Her obituary says she was born in Green Bay in 1946, graduated from Green Bay Preble High School and earned an education degree at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. She met George in college, and they married in 1968. She taught in Japan while he was serving in the military and later worked in Wisconsin schools before earning a master’s degree in special education.
She spent 17 years at Central Wisconsin Center and stayed active after retirement through travel, fitness instruction and volunteer work, according to her family. She hiked, kayaked and skied, volunteered in the Sauk Prairie area and remained closely involved with her grandchildren. Her family described her as someone known for smiles, hugs and a belief in kindness. She was survived by two children, grandchildren, siblings and a large extended family.
The case is now beyond the initial competency dispute and preliminary-hearing stage, but it remains unresolved. No trial date was identified in the reliable sources reviewed as of Nov. 10. Paul’s mental-disease-or-defect plea will be part of the proceedings ahead, while the seven charges against him remain allegations unless proved in court.
Author note: Last updated November 10, 2026.