Taylor Schabusiness appears in spit mask as she’s sentenced: update

Esther Coronado is the mother of Schabusiness’ father Arturo Coronado.

In 2009, Schabusiness’ mother died and, not long after, her father remarried a woman who already had children.

Ms Coronado says that Schabusiness felt “like she lost her mother and then she lost her dad”.

On 1 July 2022, Schabusiness brother then also died in a motorcycle accident.

“I think she has gone through a lot in her short time being here,” Ms Coronado says of her granddaughter.

“There are a lot of thigns... losing her mother, her father remarrying, then her finding herself pregnant and losing her son, then losing her brother.

“That’s a lot for one person to take in.”

Esther Coronado says that Schabusiness “needs help” – such as counselling and drug abuse treatment.

“In her short life she has gone through a lot…” she says.

She adds that Schabusiness can be a “very caring person” but she “always ended up getting hurt because she trusted people”.

“People just used her and she thinks they care but they don’t,” she says.

Ms Coronado told the court she believes her granddaughter should be given another chance and be sentenced to the possibility of parole.

Schabusiness’ cousin Valerie Armor, a married mother-of-five who lives in Ohio, is the next witness speaking in court.

Valerie Armor says that – even though they lived in other states – she would see Schabusiness at family events.

Growing up, she says Schabusiness was a happy child.

She says that Schabusiness has always had the support of her family and would have her support if released from prison.

“Taylor comes from a loving family. I know her to be loving, to have empathy, she is capable of love,” she says.

“I believe she has suffered immense trauma in her life.”

She points to the loss of Schabusiness’ mother, her father’s remarriage (she says that Schabusiness was made to live in the basement of the home), her brother’s death.

“She has trauma history and I believe she has mental health issues...” she says.

Even now, Ms Armor says she is there for her cousin and hopes that she can be released later in life and have a relationship with her child.

“She is not a lost cause,” she says.

“Is she a monster?” asks Schabusiness’ attorney.

“She is not a monster,” says Ms Armor.

The next witness is Schabusiness’ father Arturo Coronado.

Coronado appeared in court then in orange prison scrubs and shackles as he is also behind bars after being convicted of second-degree sexual assault of a child.

Schabusiness’ father says that her daughter was always a “good kid” but has made mistakes.

“Her whole life she was a good kid,” he says.

“Drugs mess people up.”

Coronado says that his daughter has a drug abuse problem and also mental health issues.

He says that she received mental health treatment on and off for years but feels that she fell through the cracks in the system.

At one point, she was admitted to a psychiatric centre and was placed on anti-psychotic drugs.

The next witness is Dr James O’Donnell, an expert on the effects of drug abuse on an individual including methamphetamine.

Dr O’Donnell says he reviewed Schabusiness, looking at what impact methamphetamine use would have on her mental illness and what impact her mental illness would have on her drug use.

Schabusiness was using marijuana daily and methamphetamine almost daily in the lead-up to the murder, he says.

He says she told him this was her habit for two years – except pausing use while pregnant.

Meth use can cause hallucinations and drug-induced psychosis, he says.

“Loss of touch with reality... delusions... what they do makes no sense, what they say makes no sense... to use an old term they’re out of it,” he says of the impact of meth on an individual.

Dr O’Donnell reveals details of her mental illnesses and drug use.

He says that Schabusiness has several mental health disorders including PTSD, major depression disroder, bipolar disorder and ADHD.

He says that while her mental illnesses are not drug-induced – as she continues to suffer them despite now having no access to drugs – drugs can enhance the “negative consequences” of her mental illnesses.

Methamphetamine especially exacerbates bipolar disorder, he says, saying that it impacts brain chemistry, cognition, thinking, control of behaviour, risk-taking and memory.