'Words do hurt, words can kill': Missouri auditor who was running for governor killed himself over false rumors he was Jewish - moments after phone conversation with his aide about religion
- Tom Schweich, 54, shot himself several times at his home on February 26
- Aide to former US Senator John Danforth was speaking to Schweich about rumors about his religion moments before he killed himself
- At his funeral, Sen. Danforth blamed Schweich's suicide on bullying
- Auditor was Christian and attended church, but had some Jewish ancestry
- Schweich, a Republican, launched a campaign for governor last month
An aide to a former United States senator revealed she was on the phone with Missouri Auditor Tom Schweich discussing rumors about his religion moments before he killed himself.
Schweich, 54, fatally shot himself on February 26 in an apparent suicide at his home in Clayton.
Former US Sen. John Danforth's assistant Martha Fitz said Schweich threatened to kill himself during their conversation about the angst he was feeling over false rumors he was Jewish.
Scroll down for video
Missouri Auditor Tom Schweich, 54, fatally shot himself in an apparent suicide at his home in Clayton last week
Schweich at his swearing-in ceremony with wife, Kathy (left), son Thomas (above), and daughter Emile (right)
Emergency services were called to Schweich's home on the morning of February 26 after he shot himself
Share this article
After making the threat, he handed the phone to his wife Kathy, Fitz said in a written statement.
She wrote: 'Seconds later, I heard Kathy say, 'He shot himself!'"
Fitz added: 'He spoke solely about his outrage concerning the rumors that were being spread about his religion and how he should respond to those rumors.
'I told him I thought it was best to let others stand up for him.'
Schweich was Christian and attended church, but had some Jewish ancestry.
The auditor's chief of staff, Trish Vincent, also talked with Schweich before his death.
She said he told her he hadn't slept because he had been physically ill for most of the night before his suicide.
In a written statement, she said Schweich 'was distraught, as he had been the last few days, regarding untruths about his religion'.
On Tuesday during Schweich's funeral, Danforth eulogized his friend.
Danforth, a political mentor and longtime ally to Schweich, is an ordained Episcopal minister.
He suggested political bullying and an anti-Semitic whisper campaign led his friend to kill himself.
Danforth expressed 'overwhelming anger that politics has gone so hideously wrong' as he spoke at the Church of St. Michael and St. George, the Episcopal church Schweich had attended in Clayton.
He said: 'Words do hurt. Words can kill.
'That has been proven right here in this state.'
He then urged the audience to disown 'winning at any cost' campaigns run by 'bullies' and to pledge 'that we will not put up with any whisper of anti-Semitism', the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Danforth delivered the eulogy at Schweich's funeral and said political bullying was to blame for his suicide
Family members of Schweich embrace outside the Church of St. Michael and St. George at his funeral
Former US Sen. John Danforth's (left) assistant Martha Fitz (right) was talking to Schweich before his suicide
Schweich, a Republican, launched an anti-corruption campaign for governor last month and was thought to have a good chance of winning.
Last month, Schweich told an Associated Press reporter the believed the new chairman of the Missouri Republican Party - John Hancock - told people he was Jewish last year.
Schweich said he considered the comments anti-Semitic and was extremely upset by them.
Hancock has denied making anti-Semitic remarks.
He has acknowledged he may have told some people Schweich was Jewish because he mistakenly believed that was true.
Danforth responded to Hancock's denial without mentioning him by name.
He said: 'Tom called this anti-Semitism, and of course it was.
'The only reason for going around saying that someone is Jewish is to make political profit from religious bigotry.'
Schweich was first elected in 2010 and easily won election to a second term in November.
He previously served as Danforth's chief of staff for a 1999 federal investigation into the deadly government siege at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, and followed Danforth to the United Nations, where he was chief of staff for the US. delegation.
President George W. Bush appointed Schweich to the State Department in 2005 as an international law enforcement official and picked Schweich two years later to coordinate the anti-drug and justice reform efforts in Afghanistan.
In addition to his wife, Schweich also leaves behind two children, Thomas and Emile.
• For confidential help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or click here
• For confidential support on suicide matters in the UK, call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or click here
Most watched News videos
- New video shows Epstein laughing and chasing young women
- Epstein describes himself as a 'tier one' sexual predator
- British Airways passengers turn flight into a church service
- Skier dressed as Chewbacca brutally beaten in mass brawl
- Buddhist monks in Thailand caught with a stash of porn
- Sarah Ferguson 'took Princesses' to see Epstein after prison
- Two schoolboys plummet out the window of a moving bus
- China unveils 'Star Wars' warship that can deploy unmanned jets
- Jenna Bush Hager in tears over disappearance of Nancy Guthrie
- Forth Bridge fireball fall into village streets
- Amazon driver's furious rant about deliveries captured on ring camera
- Authorities give update on search for Savannah Guthrie's mom
