Police call death of Missouri auditor an ‘apparent suicide’

By David Lieb, Associated Press

Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015 | 3:13 p.m.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Auditor Tom Schweich, who had recently launched a Republican campaign for governor, fatally shot himself Thursday in what police described as an "apparent suicide" at his home in suburban St. Louis.

Paramedics found the 54-year-old when responding to an emergency call shortly before 10 a.m. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead from a single gunshot wound, authorities said.

"Everything at this point does suggest that it is an apparent suicide," Clayton Police Chief Kevin Murphy said t a news conference, adding that an autopsy would be conducted Friday morning.

Schweich called The Associated Press at 9:16 a.m. Thursday inviting an AP reporter to his home for a 2:30 p.m. interview and noting that a reporter from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch also had been invited. An AP reporter spoke with Schweich by phone again at 9:35 a.m., 13 minutes before the emergency call from his home, to discuss the upcoming interview.

Murphy said one family member was at the home at the time but declined to name the person. He said the family was cooperating with the ongoing investigation.

Schweich had served as auditor since January 2011 and won re-election in November to a second, four-year term. He announced a month ago that he was seeking the Republican nomination for governor in 2016, and was gearing up for an expected primary fight against Catherine Hanaway, a former U.S. attorney and Missouri House speaker.

At the Capitol early Thursday afternoon, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon and Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder joined lawmakers, staff and some lobbyists in the House chamber for a brief prayer service remembering Schweich. Monsignor Robert Kurwicki recited the Psalm 23 and led the group in the Lord's Prayer.

All of Missouri's top elected officials released statements mourning Schweich's death, some of them expressing shock. Nixon described Schweich as "a brilliant, devoted and accomplished public servant who dedicated his career to making the world a better place." Kinder said Schweich "had a long and unblemished record as a great public servant."

Hanaway said in a statement that she was "deeply saddened" by Schweich's death and described him as "an extraordinary man with an extraordinary record of service to our state and nation. "

Schweich made his political debut in 2009. He had initially considered running for the seat being vacated in 2010 by Republican U.S. Sen. Kit Bond, and he had the encouragement of his mentor, former U.S. Sen. John Danforth. But Schweich decided to defer to Rep. Roy Blunt to avoid a divisive GOP Senate primary and instead challenged and defeated Democratic State Auditor Susan Montee in the 2010 election.

He easily won re-election last year, facing no challenge from either a Republican or Democratic candidate.

Schweich spent last weekend wooing fellow Republicans during the state GOP's annual conference in Kansas City. He spoke energetically, frequently touting his work rooting out government waste and corruption as auditor.

But he also emphasized charity, citing his Christian beliefs as a source of compassion and promising to cut back on government spending and misuse without hurting the poor.

"Part of being a Christian is you gotta help people," Schweich said while speaking to about a dozen members of the Missouri Republican Assembly on Saturday, his wife watching from the back of a small conference room in the Kansas City Marriott Downtown.

Later that day he scooped dollops of ice cream for supporters until his hands hurt.

Schweich previously worked as a private-sector attorney and for the federal government. Schweich was Danforth's chief of staff for the 1999 federal investigation into the deadly government siege at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, and followed Danforth to the United Nations, where he was chief of staff for the U.S. delegation.

President George W. Bush appointed Schweich to the State Department in 2005 as an international law enforcement official. Two years later, Bush picked Schweich to coordinate the anti-drug and justice reform efforts in Afghanistan.

Schweich also was a passionate collector of memorabilia from Hollywood actors and U.S. political figures. His historical documents included items signed by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and every U.S. president of the 20th century.

In a November interview with the AP, Schweich said he was mulling a run for governor at that time because "a lot of people want to clean up Jefferson City, and I think I would be well-equipped to do that."

Associated Press reporters Summer Ballentine and Marie French contributed to this report.