In a grim discovery over the weekend, a patient in the acute mental health unit at the West Palm Beach Veteran Affairs Medical Center was found strangled to death in the bathroom. Christopher Schweikart, 33, is facing first-degree murder charges for allegedly murdering his unidentified hospital roommate, as reported by CBS12.
Early Saturday morning, following the discovery next to a bible with a handwritten note that read, "God, I have lived a good life. Take me home," federal agents were summoned to the scene. Matching the handwriting to another bible near Schweikart's bed, authorities charged him with premeditated murder on Monday. The Palm Beach Post detailed Schweikart's alleged confession to a nurse saying, "I just want to die. I want to die so bad. I killed the guy. I put my hands around his neck. He wanted to die."
During his first appearance in federal court this week, Schweikart was denied bail. Uncertain still is the amount of time that elapsed before the body was discovered, and what hospital rounds might have been missed which Congressman Brian Mast, is amongst the many questions being raised about the case. Mast, interviewed by CBS12, is seriously concerned about the incident, saying, "What happened? You have two veterans, they’re at the VA, you have two veterans very clearly. You have one that lost his life and one that’s going to be adjudicated for taking his life."
If convicted, Schweikart could be sentenced up to life in prison or the death penalty. The VA Medical Center has come under previous scrutiny; a 2019 report criticized the facility's lax security measures after a soldier's suicide, pointing out that security cameras were not effectively functional for years, according to The Palm Beach Post.
In response to the recent killing, VA Press Secretary Terrence Hayes released a statement expressing sorrow, as remarked by CBS12: "We are deeply saddened by the death of a veteran at our facility on March 16; our thoughts and condolences are with the veteran’s loved ones." He further explained that the Office of Inspector General has been promptly notified and an investigation is in progress. However, he noted, "Because this investigation is ongoing, we cannot comment further at this time, and we refer all questions to the authorities leading the investigation."
