ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — The man accused of killing a woman at a Catholic Supply store will go to trial late next year.
Thomas Bruce appeared in a St. Louis County courtroom Friday, where a judge set a trial date of October 13, 2020—almost two years after the crime he’s accused of committing.
On Nov. 19, 2018, investigators said he walked into the Catholic Supply store in Ballwin and shot and killed Jamie Schmidt. Prosecutors said he shot her after she refused his sexual demands. He’s also accused of sexually assaulting two other women inside the west St. Louis County store, according to police.
Bruce is charged with first-degree murder, three counts of sodomy, three counts of kidnapping, one count of burglary, one count of tampering with evidence and eight counts of armed criminal action.
Bruce also was charged with sexually assaulting another woman two months earlier. He has pleaded not guilty in both cases.