Just about a month after Missouri’s auditor, Tom Schweich, fatally shot himself at his home, the spokesman for the Missouri auditor’s office was found dead Sunday night in an apparent suicide.
The Jefferson City Police Department said Robert “Spence” Jackson was found dead Sunday evening inside his home in Jefferson City in what police described as an apparent suicide.
Police found Jackson dead when they respondent to a well-being check after one of the Jackson’s family members said the spokesman had been unresponsive to phone calls.
The police managed to open Jackson’s room through a key provided by a property manager. Jackson was found dead in his bedroom from an apparent self-inflicted wound, the police said, adding that they are investigating the case as a suicide.
It was not revealed if Jackson left a suicide note but police said there was no sign of forced entry or struggle in the bedroom.
On February 26, Jackson’s boss, Missouri Auditor Tom Schweich fatally shot himself in an apparent suicide minutes after talking with reporters.
The police said that 13 minutes before police got an emergency call from Schweich’s suburban St. Louis home, he had a phone conversation with the Associated Press.
Police say the emergency call to Schweich’s house was received at 9:48 a.m.
During the interview, Schweich revealed his plans to go public that afternoon about how the head of the Missouri Republican Party made anti-Semitic comments about him.
The persons he referred to denied making such comment.
Schweich, who had Jewish ancestry, was also upset by comments describing him as a weak candidate for governor.
Jackson was among the first to suggest that Missouri Republican Party chairman John Hancock should resign after Schweick’s funeral.
The State Auditor of Missouri is an elected official responsible for serving as the State of Missouri’s chief fiscal regulator, conducting financial and performance audits for approximately 200 state agencies, boards, and commissions, and the state’s judicial branch.
The State Auditor also conducts audits for county and city governments lacking their own auditor or when requested by citizen petition. – BusinessNewsAsia.com