Construction worker accused of killing kids to enter plea

Aaron Schaffhausen, a construction worker who is accused of killing his three daughters, sits in a St. Croix County courtroom for a preliminary hearing July 24. (AP Photo/Star Tribune, Richard Sennott)

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A North Dakota construction worker accused of killing his three young daughters is expected to enter a plea in a Wisconsin court.

Aaron Schaffhausen of Minot is scheduled to appear at an arraignment Tuesday in St. Croix County Circuit Court. Prosecutors expect him to enter a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. His attorney has declined to comment on a possible plea.

Investigators believe Schaffhausen showed up at the house the girls shared with their mother in River Falls for a surprise visit last month while their mother was out. They believe he killed the girls and then called the mother and told her to come home because her children were dead.

Schaffhausen and the girls’ mother divorced in January.