News Release 12/21/2006
Slaying of lawyer in Clayton office is mystery

This story was published in the St. Louis Post Dispatch (online edition), on December 21, 2006. It is of interest to the Major Case Squad and it is reported here, verbatim.


Slaying of lawyer in Clayton office is mystery
By Margaret Gillermanand Tim O'Neil
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Thursday, Dec. 21 2006

CLAYTON — Ernest Brasier was a dedicated family man who enjoyed golf and jogging. On Wednesday, detectives were trying to figure out who shot him to death in his office at a Clayton law firm, and why.

Whatever police might be learning, they were not sharing. The Major Case Squad reported this morning that it had no new leads.

A janitor found Brasier's body about 7 p.m. Tuesday in his office on the third floor of a building at 7912 Bonhomme Avenue, just south of the St. Louis County Courthouse. Police say a single gunshot killed him.

Clayton Police Chief Tom Byrne said officers found no signs of forced entry or robbery. He sought help from the Major Case Squad, which put 30 detectives on the case.

A spokesman for the squad said Wednesday night that it had no developments.

Brasier, 57, of Town and Country, was a partner with the firm of Boggs, Boggs & Bates, where he specialized in defending clients against personal-injury suits.

He and his wife, Patricia Holtmeier, have one daughter and two sons: Kelly Holtmeier-Brasier, 26, a college graduate who lives at home; Jeff Holtmeier-Brasier, 19, a student at Southern Illinois University Carbondale; and Zach Holtmeier-Brasier, 17, a student at Chaminade Prep High School.

Brasier's murder is the first in Clayton since July 2005, when a supervisor for a janitorial service was murdered inside another law office, at 10 Brentwood Boulevard. A co-worker was charged with murder in that case. Before that, Clayton had gone almost 10 years without a murder.

People who work in the building on Bonhomme said the janitor who found Brasier's body thought he might have suffered a heart attack. The janitor went for help and returned with a lawyer from another firm, who noticed blood on the victim's mouth. They called police.

Keith Liberman, a lawyer with another firm in the same building, said he and Brasier had been on opposite sides in a legal case. "He's a good guy, always very pleasant, and he tried a lot of cases."

In an interview, Patricia Holtmeier said the family had no idea why her husband was killed.

"His wallet was on him," she said. "Nothing was taken. It was just a senseless act."

She said they were married in 1976, five years after they met while he was a law student at the University of Missouri at Columbia. They were to have celebrated their 30th anniversary on Dec. 30. She said they lived in San Antonio, Texas, for nine years before moving 24 years ago to their home, off Bopp Road.

"He was wonderful," she said. "He coached all the kids in every one of their sports, whether he knew about the sport or not. Ernie enjoyed doing everything, and he was interested in everything and everybody, and he was so kind. He never had an enemy."

Two friends who did not want to be quoted by name said Brasier was a weekly golfer and a regular jogger.

"He liked to run because it relaxed him," said one friend, who noted that Brasier didn't get upset when he didn't golf well. "He'd talk about his family. They were very involved in the kids' sports and their educations. He was just a great person."

The family is active at St. Clement Catholic Church in Des Peres, where the children attended grade school.

Their home is decorated for Christmas with white snowflake lights across the front. Inside is a gingerbread house, a Christmas tree and a vase of red roses that Brasier had given his wife only a few days ago. The family had been planning holiday celebrations including Brasier's birthday on Dec. 28.

Tina Rickell, a neighbor, said Brasier tended a garden with daughter Kelly, "and would bring us tomatoes and other vegetables." Her husband, Barry, said Brasier's family is "one of the reasons I like being here."

Brasier was born in Chicago and grew up in Robertsville, Mo., in Franklin County. He graduated from Pacific High School. He graduated from the University of Missouri at Columbia in 1970 and from the Law School in 1974.

Patricia Holtmeier grew up on a farm near Washington, Mo. A nurse by
profession, she has worked in recent years as an instructor for Kumon Math and Reading, a private tutorial service. She also is a member of Town and Country's Public Health and Environmental Commission, an advisory body.

Harry Levins and William C. Lhotka, both of the Post-Dispatch, contributed to this report.



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Copyrighted (2006) St. Louis Post Dispatch

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