A quiet Berkeley block is bracing for more courtroom drama as a St. Louis County man charged in the 2022 killing of his neighbor is expected to tell a judge that he was legally insane at the time of the attack. The move comes nearly three and a half years after 76-year-old Eileen Schnitker was found dead on her front porch.
According to FOX2, defense attorneys say Isaac Heath is expected to plead not guilty by reason of insanity at a St. Louis County hearing set for Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. Prosecutors have charged Heath with first-degree murder and armed criminal action, and court records list his bond at $750,000 cash-only.
How prosecutors say the attack unfolded
Authorities say Schnitker was discovered on her front porch on July 6, 2022, with blunt-force injuries to her head and face and a stab wound to her abdomen. A witness told police the suspect was seen swinging a baseball bat on the porch and was overheard saying, “that felt good” after he stopped, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Neighbors told reporters the suspect had shown signs of mental-health problems after his parents moved out of the home.
What an insanity plea would trigger
Under Missouri law, a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect has its own legal track. The plea must be backed up by a pretrial psychiatric evaluation and can lead to court-ordered commitment instead of immediate criminal sentencing, as outlined in state statutes. The court may order mental-health evaluations, hold hearings on a defendant’s fitness to proceed, and even impanel a jury to decide competence under RSMo 552.020 and 552.030, according to the Missouri Revised Statutes. If the court finds the accused unfit, criminal proceedings can be suspended and the defendant committed for treatment while the case is essentially put on hold.
Where the case stands now
Heath is scheduled to appear in St. Louis County court Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. If he formally enters the insanity plea, the judge is expected to order forensic exams and set follow-up hearings to sort out his mental state before any trial. Local reporting notes that Heath was arrested at the scene in 2022 and remains in custody, as reported by KMOV. It was not immediately clear whether prosecutors will accept an insanity defense.
Victim and community reaction
Family members and neighbors described Schnitker as a caring retired nurse and said her killing left the block shaken, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Wednesday’s hearing will help determine whether the case moves toward a traditional criminal trial or toward a longer forensic review and possible confinement for treatment.
