Thomas Bruce, 56, of Imperial has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for murdering a House Springs woman and sexually assaulting two other women at a Catholic Supply store in Ballwin. Bruce pleaded guilty today (Oct. 22) to the murder and other felony charges in St. Louis County Court, authorities reported.
Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Trisha Stefanski also announced her office has dismissed its case against Bruce for allegedly assaulting a 77-year-old woman in the Hillsboro area two months before the incident at the Catholic Supply store.
Stefanski said her office dismissed its case as part of Bruce’s plea agreement.
“(Assistant prosecuting attorney) Travis Partney and I consulted the victim in our matter yesterday (Oct. 21),” Stefanski said. “The victim, as well as our office, agree that having a guaranteed life sentence without the possibility of parole is a satisfactory resolution.”
During his plea hearing today, Bruce admitted that on Nov. 19, 2018, he sexually assaulted two women and murdered Jamie Schmidt, who was 53 at the time.
Bruce’s plea hearing was just days before jury selection would have begun for his trial.
According to the probable-cause statement in the case, Bruce held Schmidt, who was a customer in the store, and two other women at gunpoint, forced them to disrobe and then ordered the three victims to perform deviant sexual acts. Schmidt refused, and Bruce shot her in the head, the report said.
When officers arrived at the store, they found Schmidt had been shot, and she was transported to an area hospital, where she later was pronounced dead, a police report said.
Schmidt was married and a mother of three children. She was a member of St. Anthony Padua Catholic Church in High Ridge.
Bruce was arrested Nov. 21, 2018, and charged with first-degree murder, three counts of first-degree kidnapping, three counts of sodomy or attempted sodomy in the first degree, one count of first-degree burglary, one count of tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution and eight counts of armed criminal action, court documents show.
On Jan. 14, 2019, the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Bruce with first-degree burglary, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree sexual abuse, third-degree assault and first-degree harassment for allegedly assaulting the 77-year-old woman in her home on Pioneer Road near Hillsboro on Sept. 27, 2018, according to the probable-cause statement.
During that alleged assault, Bruce reportedly demanded the victim perform a sex act and then disappeared with no known connection to the victim. After the Catholic Supply store incident, the 77-year-old woman saw Bruce’s photo in local media and said she recognized him as the man who attacked her, authorities said.
The woman told police she was walking from her car to her home when she saw a red car drive by slowly. Moments later, Bruce knocked on her door and claimed he was with Amvets and wanted to pay her to ask a few questions. The woman said she declined his offer and asked Bruce to leave, but when she tried to close the door, he forced his way in, knocking her down. Then, Bruce allegedly sexually abused her, the report said.
While he was dragging the woman into a bedroom, a house phone rang, and she told Bruce it was her husband calling to say he would be home in a few minutes. Bruce allegedly told the victim he would kill her husband when he got home, and then he forced her into a bedroom and ordered her to stay there. Bruce then left, taking the woman’s cell phone, which was valued at $100, according to the report.
The woman suffered injuries to her knees and elbows, the report said.
Neighbors on Pioneer Road told authorities they had seen a red car in the area, and one neighbor gave a description of Bruce like the one the 77-year-old woman gave. After that, detectives got permission from Bruce’s wife to search a 2017 Kia Forte they believed he had been driving at the time of the Hillsboro-area incident and found a tracking device that American Family Insurance uses to monitor its customers driving habits, according to the report.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputies got a search warrant for the data from the device and discovered it had been at the Jefferson County victim's house on the date of the alleged attack. In addition, St. Louis County Police obtained Bruce’s cell phone records, which indicated he had been in the area around the Hillsboro-area woman’s home during the time of the alleged attack, the report said.
“Our office would like to thank the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department for their excellent work in this matter,” Stefanski said.