Texas real estate mogul Brad Simpson has been charged with the murder of his wife, Suzanne Simpson, whose body has still not been found.
Simpson was last seen on Oct. 6 outside her home in the San Antonio suburb of Olmos Park after returning from a birthday party at the Argyle, a ritzy members-only event venue in Alamo Heights, the Department of Public Safety said.
An unidentified neighbor told authorities he saw Simpson entangled in a physical altercation with her husband between 10 and 11 p.m. that night. He said it looked like Simpson “was attempting to get away” while Brad Simpson “was clearly attempting” to prevent her from fleeing, according to an affidavit in the case.
Eventually, the couple walked into the nearby woods. A short time later, the neighbor said he heard “two or three screams.”
Brad Simpson was arrested days later on Oct. 9. He has been behind bars ever since on family violence and unlawful restraint charges.
On Thursday, authorities added murder to the list of his alleged offensives, though they did not provide what evidence prompted the charge, sources told KSAT.
Search crews for weeks have been scouring a series of locations with the hopes of finding Simpson, including a landfill in Bexar County. Their efforts so far have failed to uncover the missing mother-of-four, but investigators believe her remains are somewhere in the Bandera area, where Brad Simpson headed the night of her disappearance, KSAT reported.
In light of the new murder charge, a judge added $2 million to Brad Simpson’s bond, bringing the total to $5 million, court records show.
His brother, Barton Simpson, addressed the new allegation against Brad in a statement to KSAT, calling it “heartbreaking.”
“It brings our family some peace to know that authorities have gathered sufficient evidence to feel confident in moving forward with charges,” he said.
“This also helps us to come to terms with the reality that Suzanne is no longer with us, allowing us to begin a difficult grieving process and focus on rebuilding our lives, especially for the sake of the children and our extended family,” Barton added.
Brad’s former business partner, 65-year-old James Valle Cotter, was also arrested at his home last month on a third-degree felony charge of tampering with evidence with intent to impair an investigation.