Share and Follow
An elderly man from Wisconsin is facing serious charges after allegedly shooting his wife at a nature reserve, claiming she was an imposter. George Paul, 80, reportedly believed his wife of 55 years was a “creature” in disguise, according to police documents.
George is charged with several offenses, including first-degree intentional homicide, pointing a firearm at another person, first-degree recklessly endangering safety, and discharging a firearm within 100 yards of a building. These charges were detailed in a criminal complaint accessed by Oxygen.
It remains unclear if George has entered a plea in response to these charges.
The incident unfolded on May 8 at Pewitt’s Nest Nature Preserve. Authorities were alerted after witnesses reported seeing a man pull a woman from a car and shoot her multiple times before fleeing the scene. This information was confirmed by a press release from the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office.
Upon arrival, deputies discovered 80-year-old Susan in the parking lot. Unfortunately, she was unresponsive, and despite efforts to revive her, she was pronounced dead at the scene, the complaint states.
Then, George allegedly called the station twice, according to staff cited in the complaint. The first time, he identified himself and requested a “real officer.” When a clerk informed him that none were available, he allegedly threatened to “beat down the door” and shoot her in the stomach, before yelling, “I am onto you, b–ch“ and hanging up.
A few minutes later, George allegedly called again, identifying himself as “Ben Johnson” and asking for an officer to deal with a rabid raccoon outside.
One clerk told police in the complaint that she knew George from previous calls he had made to the department. “Given the history the police department had with George,” according to the complaint, staff “knew he had dementia and was supposed to be getting services.”
According to surveillance video cited in the complaint, George then parked at the station, got a handgun from his car and crouched near the entrance, firing three shots at the Sauk Prairie Police Department, according to the complaint.
That’s when staff heard a noise and said they saw George outside holding a gun near shattered glass before he drove away, according to the complaint. Shortly after, officers stopped George’s car and arrested him.
During an interview with police, George “seemed jovial and in a good mood,” according to the complaint, though he allegedly refused to talk until his handcuffs were removed, telling investigators, “I’m a retired cop.”
He then stated that Susan was a “creature” who, according to the complaint, had “essentially used me to breed more creatures” and “was keeping track of my movements and stuff.”
George allegedly told police that he was two years into his “Alzheimer’s journey” and after he wakes up, he has no judgment or control of his emotions.
He went on to allege that he and Susan were involved in what he described as a money-laundering “Microsoft security scam” that he believed the federal government knew about, according to the complaint.
“I shot the creature that was keeping track of me this afternoon,” George allegedly told investigators, according to the complaint. “That was the only way I could keep it from interfering with what I had to do, which was to go to Sauk Prairie and put three rounds through the window to get the cops to come get me.”
George allegedly added, “I still haven’t shot anybody. I shot a creature. Their brains are different than ours. You can see it. How many times have you seen something on the television and you said, ‘That’s inhuman!’”
According to police, George said that earlier that day, while running errands, he asked Susan to drive him to Pewitt’s Nest so he could use the bathroom.
“I dragged her out of the car and she said, ‘no, no, no,’” George allegedly told police in the complaint. “And I shot her. She said ‘no, no, no’ again and I shot it again. The third time she stopped saying ‘no, no, no.’”
George is being held at the Sauk County Jail, according to the press release. An attorney for George did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Oxygen.
His next court date is scheduled for July 14, per court records.