Northfield, Minn. — A 23-year-old man from the Twin Cities has been sentenced to nearly eight years in prison for a violent attack on his ex-girlfriend at a college campus. The incident, which left several individuals injured, took place more than three years ago at St. Olaf College.
William Davis Schulenberg, originally from Excelsior, pleaded guilty to multiple assault charges as part of a plea agreement reached in August. The violent encounter occurred on May 1, 2022, when Schulenberg allegedly broke into a party at Ytterboe Hall by climbing through a window. He then attacked a young woman, striking her several times with a hammer and stabbing her in the neck, as detailed in court documents.
According to the complaint, the brutal assault did not stop there. As three other attendees attempted to intervene, Schulenberg turned on them, using the hammer to strike two individuals and brandishing a knife against a third before he was finally restrained.
Initially faced with serious charges, Schulenberg was charged with first-degree attempted murder and multiple counts of assault. Subsequently, prosecutors revised the charges, replacing one count of second-degree assault with an attempt to commit second-degree murder, while adding more assault counts to the indictment. Ultimately, he entered a plea deal that resulted in the reduction of the more severe murder-related charges.
On Monday, Schulenberg was sentenced to 91 months in prison. The case was prosecuted by the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office at the request of the Rice County Attorney’s Office. This case is a reminder of the ongoing issues surrounding campus safety and violence, an alert for communities and educational institutions alike.
The incident has sparked conversations about the need for more robust safety measures on college campuses, particularly in light of the emotional and physical scars left on victims and their communities.