Thomas Bruce charged and jailed today for murder and sexual assault at a Catholic supply store in Ballwin, a suburb of St. Louis

ST. LOUIS – A man was accused Wednesday of kill a woman and sexually assault two others after driving them under the threat of a gun in the back shop of a religious supplies store in the suburbs of St. Louis. The arrest of Thomas Bruce, 53, and Imperial, ended a two-day manhunt following the Monday afternoon tan attack at a Catholic supply store in a Another Ballwin store in the suburbs of St. Louis. The attack scared the region and led to the closure of some schools, churches and businesses.

Bruce was charged with 17 counts, including first-degree murder, three counts of sodomy and three counts of kidnapping, CBS affiliate KMOV-TV reported. Other charges include first-degree burglary, tampering with evidence and armed criminal action. He is imprisoned without bail, and we still did not know if he already had a lawyer.

At a news conference announcing the arrest, St. Louis County Attorney Bob McCulloch described the crime as "heartbreaking", a sentiment shared by County Police Chief Jon. Belmar.

"It shocked the senses," said a dark Belmar.

The authorities allege that Bruce entered the store and said that he was shopping, then he left briefly before returning with a handgun. He forced the three women to go to the back of the shop, asked them to undress, exposed and ordered them to "make him undergo deviant sexual acts," wrote detectives. in the criminal complaint.

Two of the women obeyed, but the third, Jamie Schmidt, 53, from the nearby town of House Springs, refused, so he shot her in the head, they wrote. The abuser ordered the other women to continue engaging in sexual acts on him and he then fled, apparently able to blend into the busy street in broad daylight.

McCulloch said that there was no indication that the store had been targeted because of his religious affiliation.

"It seems to me that a guy like this saw an opportunity: three women in the store only," McCulloch said.

Bruce, who claimed to be a Navy veteran on his LinkedIn page, had no previous criminal record in Missouri in addition to a ticket in 2001. McCulloch said his office was checking with other states.

Belmar said that public advice had contributed to Bruce's arrest, although he refused to expand.

McCulloch said that the aggravating circumstances make the crime eligible for the death penalty, but that this decision will return to the man who will replace it in January. McCulloch, a county attorney for nearly three decades, was defeated by Ferguson's Wesley Bell in the August Democratic primary. Bell went unopposed in the November general election.

Dan Stutte, president of Catholic Supply Store, which operates three stores in the St. Louis area, said the company had been "deeply relieved" by the arrest.

Schmidt, of House Springs, was a married mother of three who worked as a secretarial assistant on the campus of St. Louis Community College in Wildwood, Missouri. Two of his children are adults and the third is in high school.

Source link