George Paul had earlier been found competent as his homicide case moved forward in Sauk County court.

BARABOO, Wis. — An 80-year-old Wisconsin man accused of fatally shooting his wife at a nature preserve and then firing at a police department has entered a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, the latest turn in a case that previously prompted a court-ordered examination of whether he was competent to proceed.

George Paul appeared in Sauk County court Oct. 28 and waived his right to a preliminary hearing, according to court records cited by WMTV. The court entered the mental-disease-or-defect plea on his behalf. The development came about a month after a judge found Paul competent, allowing the criminal case involving the May 8 death of his wife, 80-year-old Susan Paul, to continue. The two developments address different stages of the case: the competency ruling concerned whether the prosecution could move forward, while the newly entered plea establishes the defense position as the charges advance.

Paul faces seven counts reported in court records, including 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. He has not been convicted. Authorities allege that the violence began at Pewitt’s Nest Nature Preserve in the Township of Baraboo and continued less than an hour later outside the Sauk Prairie Police Department.

The first calls reached the Sauk County Dispatch Center at 2:08 p.m. May 8, according to the sheriff’s office. Multiple people reported seeing a man pull a woman from a vehicle in the preserve parking lot and shoot her several times before driving away on County Road W toward Baraboo. Deputies arrived four minutes later and found the woman dead. Authorities later identified her as Susan Paul, of Prairie du Sac. The sheriff’s office said she had suffered multiple close-range gunshot wounds.

At 3:10 p.m., authorities received another report, this time from the Sauk Prairie Police Department. Investigators said a man driving a Kia Carnival minivan entered the department parking lot, got out and fired several rounds into the front door and vestibule. The building was struck, but no police employees were hurt. Officers located the minivan leaving the department about a minute later and stopped it. The driver was taken into custody without incident. Investigators said evidence gathered from the vehicle and the two scenes linked the driver to the earlier killing at Pewitt’s Nest.

Investigators identified the driver as George Paul. The criminal complaint later described statements he allegedly made to detectives after his arrest, including assertions that Susan was not really his wife but a “creature” that had taken her place years earlier. Other reporting on the complaint said he spoke about a broader conspiracy and claimed such beings were trying to take over the world. Authorities also said he told investigators that shooting at the police department was intended to draw police attention. Those statements are allegations contained in reporting on the prosecution’s case and have not been established as fact at trial.

The complaint also placed Paul’s cognitive condition at the center of the case from its early stages. WMTV reported that Paul told investigators he was “two years into” what he described as an Alzheimer’s journey and repeatedly referred to conspiracies involving the FBI. His defense attorney raised concerns about his health during the initial court proceedings, telling the judge that Paul suffered from significant degenerative conditions. Circuit Court Judge Blake Duren ordered a competency evaluation while emphasizing the seriousness of the homicide charge and the reports of possible late-life cognitive disease.

At a May bond hearing, prosecutors asked for $10 million cash, while the defense sought $500,000, according to court reporting. Duren set cash bond at $1 million. The court also barred Paul from possessing dangerous weapons and from leaving Wisconsin if released. Those early proceedings did not determine whether Paul committed the crimes charged. Instead, they established conditions while the court addressed the separate question of whether he was able to participate in the criminal process.

That competency question remained unresolved for several months. In late September, court records showed that Paul had been found competent, clearing the way for further proceedings. The ruling was especially significant because earlier hearings had focused heavily on reports of dementia or other degenerative brain disease. A competency finding does not itself resolve the homicide allegation or determine Paul’s mental condition at the time of the shooting. It meant the criminal case could continue through the ordinary court process rather than remain halted over his present ability to proceed.

The Oct. 28 plea shifted attention from that threshold issue to Paul’s defense against the charges. WMTV reported that Paul waived the preliminary hearing and that a not-guilty plea for reason of mental disease or defect was entered on his behalf. The court action came after the originally publicized Oct. 15 preliminary-hearing date had passed. No reliable source reviewed for this report listed a trial date or described a final resolution of the charges as of Nov. 10.

The criminal allegations unfolded against a family history that stretched back decades. Susan Paul’s obituary says she met George while attending the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in education. They married in August 1968 and moved to Japan during his military service. Susan taught at the American School in Japan and later returned with her family to Wisconsin, where she worked in the Madison Public School District and earned a master’s degree in special education.

She later spent 17 years working at Central Wisconsin Center, according to the obituary, and remained active after retirement. Family members remembered her as a traveler, hiker, kayaker, skier and volunteer. After returning to Wisconsin to be closer to grandchildren, she led fitness classes, delivered food through a Meals on Wheels program, volunteered at Sauk Prairie hospital and joined community organizations. She was survived by two children, grandchildren, siblings and other relatives. Her family remembered her for her warmth and commitment to kindness.

The homicide case remains pending in Sauk County. Paul’s competency ruling allowed the prosecution to proceed, and the later mental-disease-or-defect plea now defines an important part of his defense. The available court reporting does not identify a trial date or final adjudication, and the allegations against him remain unproven unless established in court.

Author note: Last updated November 10, 2026.