Spokesman for Mo. State Auditor Who Committed Suicide Found Dead

iStock/Thinkstock(JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.) — Just over a month ago, Missouri state auditor Tom Schweich committed suicide in what has been described at least partially as a result of an alleged whisper smear campaign. Now, Schweich’s spokesperson has been found dead, also apparently caused by a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.

Jefferson City police spokesman Capt. Doug Shoemaker told reporters Monday the “initial investigation” into the death of Robert “Spence” Jackson “gives detectives the reason to believe this is most likely a suicide.”

In the days after Schweich’s death, Jackson was vocally critical of Missouri GOP Chairman John Hancock.

Schweich, also a Republican, believed Hancock was at the helm of a whisper campaign ahead of Schweich’s gubernatorial run spreading an incorrect rumor that he was Jewish. Jackson, 44, was vocal after Schweich’s death that Hancock was at the center of the anti-Semitic attack, but Hancock has denied the allegations.

A .357 magnum with one spent round was found in the “general vicinity” of Jackson’s body. Police would not confirm whether Jackson owned the gun, but they believe Jackson killed himself sometime in the early part of the weekend, either Friday or Saturday.

After repeated attempts at making contact with her son, Jackson’s mother reached out to police and they found Jackson’s body in his Jefferson City apartment on Sunday night.

Shoemaker did confirm a note was found, but would not comment on its contents whatsoever and would not say whether it would ever be made public. Jackson’s body was found in his bedroom and there was “no sign of a struggle,” according to Shoemaker.

When asked if there were others in the apartment at some point, he would only say that is part of their “open investigation.”

There were no reports of sounds of a gun shot over the weekend, police said, adding Jackson’s last contact with anyone was on Friday.

Police said they “fully understand” the political issues surrounding the case and they “understand” Jackson worked for Schweich, but “it doesn’t mean we do anything more or less then for anybody else. We try to treat everyone the same…if there are more complexities in this case due to the nature of it, we will certainly investigate it.”

The police did acknowledge the higher profile nature of the case saying, “What we’re going to uncover, I don’t know. …We want to make sure we have some level of closure for the family.”

They are doing an autopsy and expect initial results possibly as soon as Monday, but toxicology results will not be ready for weeks, authorities said.

Police would not answer any detailed questions citing respect to Jackson’s family, as well as the “open investigation,” but they will “back track” the last days of Jackson’s life to try and get more information for as long as they need in order to “find some definitive information.”

Jackson was previously the spokesman for former Gov. Matt Blunt, also a Republican. He put out a statement calling Jackson a “gifted communicator.”


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