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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Man Who Killed Wife, Young Son Gets Life

From Staff And Wire Reports

A man convicted of fatally stabbing his estranged wife and their 7-year-old son will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Joseph Schuler II, 46, on Friday sat silently at his sentencing while members of his wife’s family described how the deaths changed their lives.

“It shook my foundation. I’ve never been the same since,” said Charla Davis, who found the bodies of her sister and nephew on the blood-spattered floor of their Skyway apartment last December.

Schuler, who waived his right to a jury trial, was found guilty by a King County Superior Court judge of aggravated first-degree murder for the slaying of his son, Joseph “Jo Jo” Schuler III, and of first-degree murder of his wife, Regina, 39.

Schuler, who worked as a medical lab technician, went to the apartment Dec. 2 to try to reconcile with his wife. He later told police he stabbed her with a kitchen knife after she shoved him away when he tried to hug her.

Evidence showed Jo Jo was in bed when Regina Schuler was stabbed, and the boy was awakened and apparently tried to save his mother.