St. Clair Twp. father Bryan Schmidt died on Father’s Day of a single stab wound, according to Butler County Coroner Dr. Lisa Mannix, who officially ruled the death a homicide.

Schmidt, 36, was stabbed once in the chest at his residence on Weeping Willow Drive. His stepson Michael J. Ray is behind bars in the Butler County Jail charged with murder.

The Butler County Sheriff’s Office released the 911 call Tuesday from a terribly distraught woman who said “my husband is hurt.” She screams and cries “Bryan, stay with me.”

But audio recordings of calls made by dispatchers to the residence after the woman disconnected were not released at the direction of Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser.

The prosecutor cited pre-trial publicity that may taint the jury pool as the reason why he is not releasing the second call.

“There is a true danger in this case, more than any case I have seen,” Gmoser said.

Michael J. Ray told sheriff deputies he “did it, yes I did” when they arrived on the scene about 4:45 p.m, Sunday. The 2012 Edgewood High School graduate was on the phone when emergency crews arrived. Schmidt was cradled on the kitchen floor by his wife, Bonnie Ray Schmidt. All were covered in blood, according to deputies.

Ray said the knife, which deputies believe is the weapon used in the stabbing, was in his bedroom.

Ray was arraigned Monday in Hamilton Municipal Court where bond was set at $500,000.

A preliminary hearing was set for 8 a.m. June 25.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-8168 or lauren.pack@coxinc.com.