Less than a month after the suicide of Missouri’s state auditor, one of the official’s top aides has also been found dead in what appears to be a suicide, police said Monday.
Robert “Spence” Jackson, 45, was found dead Sunday evening in the bedroom of his apartment in Jefferson City, apparently having killed himself with a gun, Jefferson City police said in a statement.
Jackson was a veteran of Republican state politics and at the time of his death was embroiled in in-party fighting, having called for the resignation of the party’s state chairman.
His apparent suicide comes less than a month after his boss,
Missouri State Auditor Tom Schweich, also shot himself to death at his home in suburban St. Louis.
Schweich, 54, had been re-elected in November after serving for four years and announced in January that he would seek his party’s nomination for governor.
His death on Feb. 26 came after he had complained about the tactics of rival Republicans in the primary campaign.
Police said they were still investigating the circumstances of Jackson’s death. An autopsy is planned for Monday.
A spokeswoman at the Missouri State Auditor’s office said the office had no comment about Jackson’s death.
