Man accused of shooting wife on day she filed for divorce

On the day his wife filed for divorce last week, a 53-year-old man is accused of shooting his wife after officers called to the couple’s Town of Grafton home by their 12-year-old daughter kicked in the door to the bedroom where the man was holding her as she pleaded for her life, according to a criminal complaint filed in Ozaukee County Circuit Court Monday.

Guy J. Paider is charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide and first-degree recklessly endangering safety.

Paider was arrested but then placed on an emergency mental health commitment at Winnebago Mental Health Institute in Oshkosh. As of Tuesday, he had yet to appear in court for a bail hearing.

At 3:50 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24, authorities were called to the house off Highway C south of Stonecroft Drive and north of Lion’s Den Gorge Nature Preserve by the couple’s daughter, who reported a fight between her parents.

Officer Patrick Brock and Sgt. Noah Eernisse of the Grafton Police Department arrived and were let into the home by the girl, who reported that her mother told her to call 911 and her father told her to get out of the house, the complaint states.

The officers noticed signs of a struggle in the kitchen, and after announcing their presence, heard a woman screaming in a back bedroom.

The door to that room was locked, so Brock kicked it in and told the people inside to come out with their hands up. That is when Brock heard multiple gunshots. His body camera recorded the sound of four shots.

Believing the shots were being fired at them, Brock and Eernisse retreated down the hallway and again ordered the people in the bedroom to show their hands. Paider announced he was coming out of the room with his hands raised, then surrendered to the officers, according to the complaint.

Eernisse went into the bedroom to find Paider’s 48-year-old wife on the bed shot multiple times, including in the abdomen, leg and groin. He rendered aid until emergency medics arrived and lifted the woman from the bed to the floor and worked to save her life. She was taken by ambulance to Aurora Medical Center in Grafton, then flown by a Flight for Life helicopter to Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa, where she was in stable condition the following day, according to the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office. 

In the bedroom officers found a Kimber 1911 semi-automatic handgun with a bullet in the chamber and two in the seven-round magazine. Four bullets and shell casings were recovered from the room.

On Monday, the woman told detectives from the Sheriff’s Office, who interviewed her in her hospital room, that after meeting with her lawyer regarding her divorce on Friday, she went home to find Paider and their daughter cooking in the kitchen. She said her husband repeatedly asked her what she wanted in the divorce and she said she didn’t want to talk about it in front of their daughter, according to the complaint.

The woman said Paider sent their daughter to her bedroom, then came up behind her, grabbed her by both arms and threw her to the floor. She said she hit her head and began yelling for her daughter to call 911, the complaint states.

Paider then covered her mouth, the woman said, picked her up and carried her to the bedroom, where he threw her to the floor again. She said she covered her face with her hands and began screaming “no, no,” then opened her eyes to see Paider retrieving his gun from the underwear drawer of his dresser, according to the complaint.

She said Paider told her, “Look at me. Look at me so you can see me when I shoot you” as she pleaded with him not to shoot, the complaint states.

Paider then grabbed her, the woman said, threw her on the bed and said, “Maybe we can have sex one more time before you die,” according to the complaint.

She said she was covering her face with a pillow when Paider again demanded she look at him and said, “You called the sheriff. They are here. That’s what you wanted.” Then, she said, Paider shot her, the complaint states.

Paider is a former longtime member of the West Allis Fire Department. According to the department’s 2022 annual report, he worked for the department for more than 26 years and served as its battalion chief. He also worked as a nurse with emergency room experience and served as an EMT-paramedic instructor at Milwaukee Area Technical College. 

In addition, Paider served as the town representative on the Grafton Public Safety Committee for a short time last year. 

The charges Paider faces carry a domestic abuse surcharge and accuse him of committing his crimes with a dangerous weapon, which means the maximum prison term for each crime could be increased by five years if he is convicted. 

Attempted first-degree intentional homicide is punishable by a maximum 40 years in prison and 20 years of extended supervision. First-degree recklessly endangering safety is punishable by a maximum 7-1/2 years in prison and five years of extended supervision. 

On Tuesday, Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Sandy Williams issued a warrant for Paider’s arrest seeking his return from Winnebago Mental Health Institute to the Ozaukee County jail.