Danforth Aide Says Missouri Auditor Shot Himself After Call

An aide to former U.S. Sen. John Danforth says she was on the phone with Missouri Auditor Tom Schweich discussing his religion just moments before he killed himself.

Danforth assistant Martha Fitz said in a written statement Thursday that Schweich's chief of staff expressed concerns about his emotional state on Feb. 26 and asked her to call Schweich's wife, Kathy.

Fitz said she spoke over the phone with Tom Schweich around 9:40 a.m., and he expressed outrage over "rumors that were being spread about his religion."

She says Schweich threatened to kill himself and handed the phone to his wife. Seconds later, Fitz says she heard his wife say, "He shot himself."

Danforth mentored Schweich, who had launched a campaign for the Republican nomination for governor just a month before his death.