ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — The suspect charged in the murder of a man inside a west St. Louis County home also ran a self-proclaimed "sorcery academy" out of the home, according to state business records.
Prosecutors on Wednesday charged Bryan Lovering, 39, with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of Robert Schmedake.
According to court records, Schmedake's boss asked St. Louis County police to check on him. Police arrived shortly after 1 p.m. Tuesday to the home at the 1400 block of Cedar Bluff Drive and met with Lovering, who was at the home.
Officers entered the home and found the body of Schmedake, who was in an "advanced stage of decomposition" and appeared to have suffered multiple stab wounds several days prior, court documents said. Blood cast-off, which is a blood splatter pattern indicative of a stabbing, was found in the home.
An autopsy revealed some of Schmedake's wounds were inflicted post-mortem.
Lovering made "inculpatory statements regarding his role in the apparent homicide" and after being given his Miranda rights, he later admitted during a police interview that he killed Schmedake, court documents said.
According to filings with the Missouri Secretary of State's Office, Lovering is listed as the owner of "The Academy of Sorcery International Fellowship LLC." The business' address is listed as the same home where Schmedake was found dead.
Police did not disclose the relationship between the suspect and the victim.
Lovering was being held on $1 million bond at the St. Louis County Jail.
