Sheboygan groom accused of beating his bride just after their wedding
Jeffrey Schuette
SHEBOYGAN (WITI) -- 26-year-old Jeffrey Schuette faces two counts of misdemeanor battery for allegedly beating his new bride on the night of their wedding.
According to the criminal complaint, Schuette and his new bride got married on Saturday, August 16th. Their reception was held at the Breaking Bread Banquet in downtown Sheboygan that evening. The complaint indicates shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday, the couple left the banquet hall -- and were going to head back to their hotel.
The bride told police she and Schuette had been drinking -- and she told Schuette that "she was not going to drive. She said she was going to get a ride." The bride told police Schuette was "very intoxicated" but refused to get a ride -- and instead drove to the hotel. The bride told police Schuette "was driving all over the road."
Once at the hotel, the criminal complaint says Schuette tried to "get snuggly" with the bride. She apparently told him to get off of her as "he ruined her wedding night. She says the defendant 'snapped.'" The complaint says Schuette then punched the woman "at least three or four times with a closed fist in the face." The woman then ran into the bathroom and locked herself inside.
After some time, the complaint says the bride came out of the bathroom and saw Schuette was laying on the bed. She thought he was passed out and crawled into bed. But the complaint says Schuette began "touching her" and again "snapped."
The complaint indicates the woman ran back into the bathroom and called her mother to pick her up. "During this time, the defendant threw all of (the bride's) belongings into the hallway and he left the room."
When officers were first dispatched to investigate this incident, the complaint says the woman's "right eye was swollen almost closed and black and blue. "
Officers took Schuette into custody shortly after 8 a.m. He took a preliminary breath test -- and it registered a .069. Schuette told officers the woman was "claiming that the defendant was not giving her as much attention as she wanted" and that she was slapping him on his body. He told officers "he accidentally hit (the woman's) eye with his right elbow" when he was trying to block her slaps.
If convicted, Schuette faces up to nine months in prison and $10,000 in fines.
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