Thomas Bruce, 53, of Imperial, who is accused of sexually assaulting two women and murdering a third – Jamie Schmidt, 53, of House Springs – at a Catholic Supply store in west St. Louis County, has been charged for allegedly assaulting a Jefferson County woman two months earlier.
Today (Jan. 14), the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office announced it has charged Bruce with first-degree burglary, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree sexual abuse, third-degree assault and first-degree harassment for allegedly attacking a 77-year-old woman in her home in the 4600 block of Pioneer Road near Hillsboro on Sept. 27, according to the probable-cause statement.
The incident at the Catholic Supply store occurred Nov. 19.
In the Jefferson County case, Bruce allegedly demanded that the victim perform a sex act and then disappeared with little trace and no known connection to the victim. His arrest in the Catholic Supply store case broke open the Jefferson County investigation when the victim said she saw Bruce’s photo in local media and recognized him as the man who attacked her, authorities said.
The woman told police she was walking from her car to her home between 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Sept. 27 when she saw a red car drive by slowly. Moments later, Bruce knocked on her door, and claimed he was with Amvets, a service organization for veterans, and wanted to pay her to ask a few questions, the probable-cause statement said.
The victim 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 the woman. 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, the report said.
Bruce allegedly told the victim he would kill her husband when he got home, and he then put the woman in 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 similar to the one given by the alleged victim. At the time, however, investigators could not connect Bruce to the attack, according to the report.
However, after the Hillsboro-area woman called authorities about recognizing Bruce, 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 attached to the car’s data port, according to a probable-cause statement. American Family Insurance uses the “KnowYourDrive” device to monitor the driving habits of its customers.
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, the report said.
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, according to the report.
Bruce already is facing charges of first-degree murder in the death of Schmidt and 16 other felonies in connection with the Nov. 19 attack at Catholic Supply store.
St. Louis County judges did not allow bond in that case, but his bail has been set at $500,000 in the Jefferson County case.
On Jan. 11, St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell said he will not seek the death penalty in the Catholic Supply store case, but instead will seek life in prison with no parole.
Bell, who was sworn in Jan. 1 as the new St. Louis County prosecutor, said during his campaign for the office that he was opposed to the death penalty.
“These are horrific crimes,” Bell said in a text message provided by his spokeswoman. “I will use all the resources of the state of Missouri and my office to see to it that the person who killed Jamie Schmidt and violently sexually assaulted two other victims at the Catholic Supply Store will spend the rest of his life in prison with no possibility of parole.”
Bruce’s lawyer couldn’t be reached for comment today (Jan. 14).