Neighbors awoke to the sound of sirens in Issaquah, Washington, on the morning of September 16. Smoke rose from an apartment building while firefighters rushed in, only to uncover a scene that would later shake the community: a man’s lifeless body and a woman waiting outside in a nearby playground.
That woman was 49-year-old Kimberly Feyhl, who would soon confess to a crime both brutal and bewildering.
According to court records, Feyhl calmly told investigators, “I killed my roommate.” The victim was 43-year-old Richard Kenneth Schnepf, who had been both her roommate and on-again, off-again boyfriend for several years.
Feyhl’s explanation stunned officers. She insisted that God had warned her Schnepf was not who he seemed — describing him as a “demon” who intended to kill her. A voice, she said, commanded her to act first.
On the night of September 15, Feyhl allegedly armed herself with an ax, waiting for Schnepf to enter her room. When he never came, she went into his instead. There, as Schnepf lay asleep atop the covers, she allegedly struck him in the head multiple times.
Even after the blows, Feyhl told police she believed Schnepf wasn’t truly dead. She then doused him with rubbing alcohol and set him ablaze with a Bic lighter. Fire crews would later find the bottle of alcohol beside his body and the bloodied ax tucked beneath a mattress.
Investigators described walls spattered with blood and the overwhelming smell of burned alcohol and fabric. By the time firefighters extinguished the flames, Schnepf had already succumbed to the attack.
Feyhl, meanwhile, was discovered outside, sitting in a playground near the building. Police noted she still had the Bic lighter in her possession.
Prosecutors charged Feyhl with first-degree murder with a deadly weapon enhancement and first-degree arson. A King County judge set her bail at $3 million, citing the severity of the crime and public safety concerns.
Feyhl entered a not guilty plea during her first court appearance on Tuesday. Her next hearing is scheduled for October 9.
The violent nature of Schnepf’s death, an attack carried out while he slept has left residents unsettled. For many, the case raises questions not only about mental health and faith but also about how unseen battles can spiral into tragedies that devastate families and communities.
As one neighbor remarked while watching the apartment complex cordoned off with police tape, “You never expect something like this to happen just a few doors down.”
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