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Man Said 'That Felt Good' After Allegedly Beating Retired Nurse To Death, According To Authorities
Isaac Heath stands accused of murdering his neighbor Eileen Schnitker, a retired nurse who loved animals.
A Missouri man is accused of stabbing and beating an elderly neighbor to death with a baseball bat, then expressing glee over the slaying.
Isaac Heath, 31, faces charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action, according to jail records reviewed by Oxygen.com.
He stands accused of killing 76-year-old Eileen Schnitker, who was slain on the front porch of her Berkeley home on Wednesday, according to court documents obtained by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Schnitker was beaten in the face and head and was also stabbed in the abdomen. St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell noted that she was “savagely beaten,” KSDK-TV reports.
A witness told police that they saw Heath on Schnitker’s front porch, swinging the bat, and uttering, “that felt good” after the attack.
Health may have been suffering mental health issues that recently became exacerbated after his parents moved out of the home he shared with them, neighbor Erin Cooper told the Post-Dispatch. She said that after his parents vacated, she began hearing screaming and other noises from the home. She noted that she saw police stop by multiple times before the murder.
“He was having some mental issues, mentally unstable,” Cooper said. “Since his parents moved, I have not seen him leave the house once. Just screaming and loud music.”
It’s not clear if Cooper has an attorney. His bond has been set at $750,000.
As he awaits his day in court, the community is reeling from Schnitker’s death.
"She adored her family," her niece Cheryl Benson Kaufman told KSDK-TV. "Smart as a damn whip."
She added that her outlook was “always positive.”
Schnitker worked as a medical assistant from SSM Health until she retired. At the time of her death, she lived with her two dogs.
Her only child, Jason Schneider, 49, who lived just a few blocks away, told the Post-Dispatch that they would have dog-play dates twice a day.
“She lived for her animals,” Schneider said.
He told the outlet that anyone who wanted to honor his mom could do so by donating in her name to an animal organization.
