New Hope shooting suspect deemed incompetent

STEVENS POINT — John Shulfer was ruled competent to proceed with court hearings on Sept. 10, but on Sept. 23 the ruling was reversed and deemed Shulfer incompetent.
Shulfer shot and killed both his parents, Dale and Paula Shulfer, on July 6 on a Krogwold Road residence in the Township of New Hope. The initial call that led law enforcement to the scene was for a welfare check on John L. Shulfer. Upon arrival, the first deputy on the scene observed Dale Shulfer deceased in the driveway. Inside the residence, Paula Shulfer was found deceased in the garage and two children were found alive.
While establishing a perimeter of the property, a deputy encountered Shulfer who had a pistol in his hand. After giving a verbal command for Shulfer to show his hands, Shulfer began to raise the hand holding the pistol. In response, the deputy fired his rifle three times. Shulfer fell to the ground and said, “I’m done, I’m done…I’m done, man. You got me.” Two pistols were located near where Shulfer fell with a third pistol discovered nearby.
While recovering from three gunshot wounds in the hospital, John Shulfer was interviewed by investigators where he admitted to shooting Dale and Paula Shulfer in addition to being in possession of a pistol when shot by the deputy.
District Attorney Cousins has since deemed the use of deadly force by the deputy justified.
Shulfer remains in custody held on a $2,000,000 cash bond. On Aug. 1, the court ordered a competency evaluation to be completed.
Shulfer appeared in court during the competency hearing on Sept. 10, where the writer of the competency report, Isabella Campanini, appeared by Zoom video. Both parties received and reviewed the competency report that deemed Shulfer competent to proceed.
During a Sept. 23 preliminary hearing, attorneys for Shulfer filed a second motion that questioned Shulfer’s competency. The court questioned Shulfer to ask if he is competent or incompetent, to which he indicated that he is competent. Upon review of the first competency report, the court found that Shulfer lacks competency and was deemed incompetent. Shulfer will be sent to an institution to be determined by the Department of Health Services for inpatient treatment. Additionally, court records state that Shulfer’s competency can be restored with proper medication.