HILLSBORO, Mo. (AP) - An eastern Missouri man has been charged with first-degree murder and other counts in the beating death of another man missing since 2019 and whose decomposing body was found wrapped in carpet this week.
The body of Samuel Israelsen, 41, was found Tuesday wrapped in the carpet and hidden in a wooded area in High Ridge, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. An autopsy revealed Israelsen had suffered extensive head trauma, and the medical examiner declared his death a homicide.
Israelsen had been reported missing by his family in July 2019, after he had not been seen for more than a month.
Following a police interview, detectives arrested Jason Isbell, 44, of Hillsboro, and charged him Wednesday with the murder count, as well as armed criminal action. Investigators said Isbell admitted hitting Israelsen repeatedly with a metal baseball bat. Another witness corroborated the beating, police said.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office did not say who hid Israelsen’s body. Three other people are being held in connection with the case as witnesses or accomplices, but have not been charged, investigators said.
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