Background: News footage of the scene on Sept. 16 in Issaquah, Wash. where Kimberly Feyhl allegedly killed her boyfriend (KING). Inset: Kimberly Feyhl in court on Tuesday (KING).
A Washington state woman pleaded not guilty after being arrested for allegedly killing her boyfriend with an ax then setting their home on fire.
Kimberly Feyhl, 49, was charged with first-degree murder with a deadly weapon enhancement and first-degree arson and remains in custody on $3 million bail. Local NBC affiliate KING was in the courtroom on Tuesday for Feyhl”s arraignment, which followed her Sept. 16 arrest. According to court documents reviewed by Law&Crime, firefighters responded to a call at an apartment complex in Issaquah, Washington, before 8 a.m. that morning. When they arrived, they found a man dead inside and Feyhl outside sitting in a playground nearby.
Police questioned Feyhl, who allegedly admitted to setting the fire and killing the man, who was her roommate and an occasional boyfriend.
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According to the probable cause document, Feyhl was asked by investigators what had occurred that day. Her response was, “I killed my roommate.” She identified him as Richard Kenneth Schnepf, 43, whose identity was confirmed by the medical examiner. Feyhl explained that she and Schnepf were roommates, but had dated on and off for the past few years.
Feyhl told police that “God told her to” kill Schnepf with an ax, explaining further that she believed he was going to kill her. When she elaborated even more, she told police that Schnepf was a “demon and knew this because God had told her so.” Feyhl also told police that a “voice” told her to kill Schnepf.
Feyhl told police that on the night of Sept. 15, she waited for Schnepf to come into her room “to kill her,” but he never did. She then went into his room after retrieving an ax and saw that he was sleeping on his bed on top of the covers. While Schnepf slept, Feyhl allegedly struck him in the head with the ax “multiple times.”
Not believing that Schnepf was dead, Feyhl then allegedly poured rubbing alcohol over him and set him on fire with a Bic lighter. The bottle of alcohol was found on the bed by Schnepf’s body; the ax, which had “blood and hair on the blade” was found under the mattress. Feyhl had a Bic lighter on her when she was taken into custody.
Police also observed blood spatter on several walls in the room where Schnepf’s body was found.
Feyhl was charged with first-degree murder with a deadly weapon enhancement and first-degree arson. She is currently being held in King County Jail on $3 million bond. Her next court date is scheduled for Oct. 9.
