Man pleads guilty but insane in daughters’ deaths

A father has changed his pleas to guilty but insane in the killings of his three young daughters last summer in Wisconsin.

That means the defense at Aaron Schaffhausen’s trial will have to prove he had a mental disease or defect so severe that he wasn’t responsible for his actions.

Prosecutors won’t have to prove he killed his daughters at their River Falls home last July.

The 35-year-old Schaffhausen had pleaded not guilty, but switched his plea Thursday. It came after more than a day of delays and legal wrangling about what kind of evidence will be allowed at his trial, which starts next week.

Jury selection is to begin Monday in St. Croix County Circuit Court.