Police said Monday that they’ve found no evidence to show there was a “whispering campaign” against late gubernatorial candidate and Missouri Auditor Tom Schweich (R).
Schweich committed suicide last month just as he was about to publicly accuse the state’s Republican Party chairman, John Hancock, of telling people that he was Jewish. Schweich was an Episcopalian with Jewish heritage and believed Hancock was spreading misinformation about his faith in order to hobble him among evangelical Christian voters in the gubernatorial primary.
Hancock has denied those allegations. Clayton, Mo. Police Lt. Don Bass told local TV station KMOX on Monday that police have found no evidence of those rumors, either.
“With everything that was brought to our attention, there’s no substance to the whispering campaign,” Bass said.
Bass told the news station that nothing police have turned up in interviews or Schweich’s correspondence indicates that the late auditor was a target of threats or bullying.
In a separate interview with the Associated Press, Bass said “I think everybody’s looking for a rational reason for an irrational act … but right now we’re not finding anything.”
He also confirmed that Schweich’s death was a suicide, although police had found “no clear motive” yet.
