EAU CLAIRE — A $1 million cash bail was set Thursday for the woman charged in connection with the murder of a 79-year-old Altoona man.

Tracey A. Clark, 55, 614½ N. Barstow St., made her initial appearance in Eau Claire County Court on felony counts of first-degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse as a party to a crime.

As conditions of bail, Clark cannot have contact with the victim’s family or her co-defendant.

Clark returns to court Tuesday for a preliminary hearing.

Co-defendant Brandon A. Gaston, 46, of Rockford, Ill., faces the same two charges and is also in custody on a $1 million cash bail. He also returns to court Tuesday for a preliminary hearing.

Police say Clark and Gaston were set to benefit financially from the homicide of Dennis Schattie by getting his house, car and money.

Schattie was killed April 4 or 5. His decapitated body was found April 12 in the Rock River, near the Fordham Dam, in Rockford, Ill., authorities said.

According to the criminal complaint:

Schattie’s body was wrapped in a tarp. The head was not recovered. There was a rope either around or inside the tarp with the body. A plastic bag inside the tarp was holding a saw, butcher knife, hammer and a broken set of dentures.

The body appeared to have been sawed in several places. The upper portion of the body also appeared to be burned in several places. The odor of gasoline or some sort of possible accelerant emanated from the body.

Based on the dentures and fingerprints, authorities identified the body as Schattie and learned that he lived on St. Andrews Drive in Altoona.

Based on investigations in both Altoona and Illinois, Clark and Gaston were identified as suspects.

A search warrant was executed at the St. Andrews Drive residence in Altoona on April 8. Clark and a man were at the residence and agreed to be questioned.

Clark said she knew Schattie for 22 years and had been living with him since 2019 when she was released from prison. Clark said she had not been employed and received disability payments.

Clark admitted cleaning the garage and the back of the blue Chevy van with the man. She claimed that one of her cats had defecated in the back of the van and a lawn mower had leaked while inside the van. She admitted using bleach. She told the man to dispose of the floor mats from inside the van.

Clark said the van and Altoona residence were both in her and Schattie’s names. She said if Schattie died, she would own both the van and the residence. Clark said her name was also placed on Schattie’s annuity about a year ago.

Clark acted surprised on April 14 when authorities told her about Schattie’s homicide.

Red stains found on a wheelbarrow in the garage of the Altoona residence and on the blue van’s rear door rubber seal were discovered through DNA testing to be Schattie’s blood.

Neighbors near the Altoona residence told authorities a man was pressure-washing the blue van on April 11. In nearby dumpsters, authorities found floor mats containing red stains and the odor of diesel fuel. DNA testing showed the red stains were Schattie’s blood.

On May 6, authorities interviewed an inmate at the Eau Claire County Jail who was housed in the same block as Gaston.

Gaston told the inmate he killed Schattie and had pre-planned the murder with Clark while Gaston was still in prison. Gaston told the inmate the murder was about “money over everything.”

Contact: 715-833-9207, dan.holtz@ecpc.com

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