Thomas Bruce, 53, of Imperial, who is accused of sexually assaulting two woman and fatally shooting a third woman at a Catholic Supply store in St. Louis County last month, is being investigated for an assault and home invasion in rural Jefferson County, Sheriff’s Office Capt. Gary Higginbotham said.
A 77-year-old woman said she was assaulted on Sept. 27 at her home, and she identified Bruce as the man who attacked her after seeing his picture in the coverage of the Catholic Supply shooting and assault, Higginbotham said.
On Monday (Dec. 17), Higginbotham said the Sheriff’s Office was awaiting a search warrant and results from DNA testing before identifying Bruce as a suspect.
“Her (the 77-year-old woman’s) identification is great, but we are working on obtaining additional evidence to confirm the accusation,” Higginbotham said.
Bruce’s lawyer couldn’t be reached for comment Monday.
Bruce has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Jamie Schmidt, 53, of House Springs, as well as with 16 other felonies stemming from the Nov. 19 attack at the Catholic Supply store, 14069 Manchester Road, in the Ballwin area.
He also is charged with 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.