More than five months after Texas real estate agent Suzanne Simpson vanished in a wealthy area of San Antonio, attorneys are still sorting out evidence as her husband faces a murder case and her body has not been found.
Simpson, a 51-year-old mother of four, went missing Oct. 6, 2024, after reportedly fighting with her husband of 22 years in front of their house in Olmos Park in the San Antonio area. Authorities believe Brad Simpson “intentionally and knowingly caused the death” of Suzanne “on or about Sunday, Oct. 6,” records show.
Brad Simpson is charged with murder, tampering with evidence, aggravated assault and prohibited weapons possession in his wife’s disappearance and suspected death and is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday for a status hearing after it was delayed in February.
Both prosecutors and Simpson’s defense attorney said during a Feb. 12 hearing they would need more time to go through discovery in the case. Prosecutors were still sifting through data and expecting more evidence from the Texas Rangers, according to the San Antonio Report.
The night of the fight and Suzanne’s disappearance, Oct. 6, the Simpsons and their 5-year-old daughter attended a party at The Argyle club. (Olmos Park Police/ Kendall County Sheriff’s Office)
On Oct. 6, the night of the fight and Suzanne’s disappearance, the Simpsons and their 5-year-old daughter attended a party at The Argyle club, an exclusive, ritzy club in Alamo Heights. Bystanders witnessed the couple having a “verbal altercation” while at the party, according to an arrest affidavit.
Around 8:30 p.m., Suzanne Simpson and her daughter left the party and went to the H-E-B grocery store in San Antonio from 8:40 p.m. to 8:51 p.m., according to surveillance footage obtained by police. They arrived at their house soon after, documents show.
Later that evening, Suzanne phoned a family friend to say she was stopping by. She also called her mother to tell her Brad assaulted her, injuring her arm, back and neck, according to court records. She arrived at the family friend’s house at 9:25 p.m. Around 10 p.m., the family friend’s neighbor reported seeing Brad and Suzanne arguing loudly and “physically struggling” in front of his house.
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The Argyle club in San Antonio is where Suzanne and Brad Simpson attended a party the night Suzanne disappeared. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)
The neighbor observed Suzanne “attempting to get away from Mr. Simpson’s grasp as he tried to pull her downwards.” The neighbor also observed Brad chasing after his wife and trying to grab her, according to documents. The neighbor later heard screams coming from the wooded area across from his home.
About one hour after witnessing Suzanne and Brad Simpson fighting in front of his home, the same neighbor saw Brad’s truck leave the area and then return about an hour later.
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Brad Simpson appears in court for a pretrial hearing in Bexar County, Texas. Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)
The next morning, on Oct. 7, surveillance footage from a San Antonio H-E-B grocery store captured Brad and his truck, which contained a large ice chest.
Later that morning, he bought food at a drive-thru in Kendall County, Texas, and camera footage captured three white trash bags, a heavy-duty trash can, an ice chest and a “large bulky item wrapped and secured in a blue tarp” that was held down by a firewood rack in the back of Brad’s truck, according to the affidavit.
Shortly after the drive-thru, Brad was allegedly seen purchasing two bags of cement, a construction bucket, a box of heavy-duty trash bags, Clorox disinfectant spray and insect repellent with cash at a nearby Home Depot, police learned through cellphone data, surveillance footage and a Home Depot receipt.
A Home Depot in Boerne, Texas, Nov. 13, 2024. According to an affidavit, Brad Simpson’s truck was observed here Oct. 7, 2024, and he bought Quikrete cement, trash bags, Clorox and insect repellent around the same time his wife, Suzanne Simpson, disappeared under suspicious circumstances. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)
Prior to his purchase, Brad asked an unknown male in the parking lot for directions to the nearest dump in Boerne. His cellphone was apparently turned off at the time.
At a gas station that same morning, surveillance footage captured Brad’s truck, which was missing the white trash bags, but the blue tarp, firewood rack and trash can were still present.
A Valero Stripes gas station in Boerne, Texas, Nov. 13, 2024. Brad Simpson was observed here Oct. 7, 2024, after leaving a local waste center around the time his wife, Suzanne Simpson, disappeared under suspicious circumstances. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)
After picking up his daughter from school in the afternoon, Brad was spotted on another surveillance camera “washing and cleaning the drive front (sic) side and the rear-left passenger side” of his truck at a car wash back in San Antonio.
Suzanne’s friend reported her missing the evening of Oct. 7. When police contacted Brad about his wife’s disappearance, he allegedly told them he had not seen her since Oct. 6, around 11 p.m.
The home of Suzanne and Brad Simpson in San Antonio, Texas, Nov. 12, 2024. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)
On Oct. 8, Brad exchanged text messages with his longtime friend and business partner, James “Val” Cotter, who is also charged in the case.
“If you’re in Bandera, can you haul a– to meet me at your house?” Simpson allegedly texted Cotter. “I don’t have much time.”
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Kendall County Solid Waste in Boerne, Texas, Nov. 13, 2024. Brad Simpson’s truck was observed here Oct. 7, 2024, around the time his wife, Suzanne Simpson, disappeared. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)
In a later text to Brad, Cotter wrote, “Get over here!! I won’t tell anyone” and “You’re my brother.”
Cotter was charged with tampering with evidence with the intent to impair an investigation and possession of prohibited weapons in Suzanne’s disappearance. He posted bond in November 2024.
According to Bexar County Court records, James Valle Cotter, 65, was charged with tampering or fabricating physical evidence with intent to impair an investigation. (Bexar County Jail)
Authorities arrested Brad Oct. 9, 2024, and Cotter on Oct. 21, 2024.
On Oct. 9, Texas Rangers executed a search warrant on Brad’s property in Bandera County, where they found a ground-level burn site with a burnt laptop and multiple cellular devices. They also searched his truck and identified stains that tested “presumtively positive for blood,” which were tested and determined to be Brad’s blood.
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Brad Simpson appears in court for a pretrial hearing in Bexar County, Texas Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)
In December, Bexar County Criminal District Attorney Joe Gonzales announced via press release that Brad had “concealed” a “reciprocating saw” two days after Suzanne’s disappearance, and authorities informed family members that Suzanne’s DNA had been identified on the saw.
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Brad remains in Bexar County’s jail with bonds totaling $3 million and a federal hold by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for the weapons charge. His attorney could not be reached for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Mollie Markowitz contributed to this report.
