HIGH RIDGE, Mo. - Family, friends, loved ones and strangers came together Tuesday to say goodbye to Jamie Schmidt, the woman killed last week inside the Catholic Supply store in west St. Louis County.
Mourners gathered for a funeral Mass at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in High Ridge. It was the same church where Schmidt was a member of the congregation for more than 30 years.
Many of the people in attendance remembered her angelic voice. One friend wrote, “She could sing you the phone book and her voice would convey God’s love.”
Deacon Jim G'sell addressed the community saying, "While innocently shopping for religious items, Jamie faced pure evil and she faced it head-on. Though I'm sure she was absolutely terrified, she did not surrender to evil."
Schmidt was a mother of three and married to her high school sweetheart. She was 53 years old.
Last Monday, St. Louis County police said Thomas Bruce sexually assaulted three women inside the west county Catholic Supply store before killing Jamie Schmidt.
Loved ones said she went to the store that day to do something kind for others, something she was known for. She was there to buy supplies to knit rosaries for people this Christmas, a family friend told 5 On Your Side.
The man suspected in her murder is being held without bond. He’s been charged with 17 counts, including first-degree murder. On Tuesday, the county councilman-elect in the area that covers where the crime happened called for officials to pursue the death penalty in the case.
