Man pleads guilty in St. Louis Catholic store killing

ST. LOUIS (AP) – A former pastor accused of sexually assaulting two women inside a suburban St. Louis Catholic supply store, then killing a third when she refused his sexual demands has pleaded guilty.

Thomas Bruce entered the plea Friday to first-degree murder and other charges in the attacks in Ballwin, Missouri, on Nov. 19, 2018.

The plea requires a sentence of life without parole.

Bruce was on the run for two days before his arrest. The 56-year-old Bruce is a Navy veteran who operated a nonprofit church in southeast Missouri for four years until it was dissolved in 2007.