Missouri Man Who Beat Elderly Neighbor To Death Said That 'Felt Good' After Murder

Berkeley, Missouri -- A man allegedly killed an elderly medical assistant Wednesday by hitting her with a baseball bat. Both of them were next-door neighbors.

According to a report by St. Louis Post-Dispatch, a witness heard Isaac Heath, 31, say "that felt good" after fatally battering Eileen Schnitker, 76. Heath was later described as "mentally unstable" by other neighbors.

Schnitker was found murdered on her front porch around 9:30 am. She had suffered head and face injuries as well as stab wounds in the abdomen, the report said.

Heath was arrested in his home and is facing first-degree murder and armed criminal action charges, according to jail records released on Thursday. He is being held at St. Louis County Jail, with the bail amount set at $750,000. It is unclear if Heath has an attorney. The documents didn't reveal the motive for the attack.

Schnitker is survived by her only son, Jason Schneider, who said his mom wasn't having any troubles with her alleged murderer. Her neighbor made an urgent call to Schneider saying someone had thrown a statue through his mother's kitchen window. Upon his arrival, the area was already blocked as a crime scene.

Another neighbor said she called 911 after she heard breaking glass and saw Heath charging toward Schnitker's driveway. She saw Heath brandishing a silver baseball bat, and made a second emergency call. Schneider suspects Schnitker was attacked and killed after she came out to inspect the ongoing disturbance.

A night before Schnitker's murder, police showed up at Heath's house after a neighbor complained of yelling noises coming from his backyard. Berkeley Police Chief Art Jackson said Heath was calm when authorities arrived.

The suspected murderer was having "mental issues," according to Erin Cooper, Heath's neighbor who described him as "mentally unstable" in an interview with St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "Since his parents moved, I have not seen him leave the house once. Just screaming and loud music," Cooper said.

St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell was "speechless" after this incident. "The fact patterns of some crimes leave you speechless, and this is one of those," Bell said, per KSDK-TV. "We're not talking about a shoot-out. This is a neighbor checking on her home and she was savagely beaten."