Investigators say Missouri Auditor Tom Schweich had talked for years of taking his own life but left behind no suicide note when he fatally shot himself several weeks ago.
Police in the St. Louis suburb of Clayton said Tuesday that they're nearing the end of their investigation and have found nothing to suggest the death of the Republican candidate for governor was anything other than a suicide.
Although Schweich had been prescribed two-dozen different drugs for such things as pain relief and Crohn's disease, toxicology tests showed there were no illegal drugs in his system.
Also Tuesday, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon announced plans to appoint Democrat Nicole Galloway — a county treasurer — to fill the job. She would serve the remainder of Schweich's four-year term, which began in January.
Police Report: Late Auditor Schweich Felt Abandoned by GOP
Police reports obtained by The Associated Press show former Missouri Auditor Tom Schweich felt abandoned by Republican allies before fatally shooting himself.
Schweich died Feb. 26 after shooting himself in his Clayton home. Minutes before, Schweich told an Associated Press reporter that he was ready to go public with allegations that the state party chairman told donors that he was Jewish.
Schweich was Christian but had Jewish ancestry. He viewed the remarks as anti-Semitism. Police reports say that his friends and political advisers discouraged him from publicizing those concerns.
Records released Tuesday show he told his chief of staff the morning of his suicide that he would have to "run as an independent or he needed to kill himself."
