Authorities discovered the DNA of Suzanne Simpson, a missing realtor from Texas, on a hand saw that her husband, a real estate magnate, allegedly concealed from the authorities while they were searching for her.
Brad Simpson, 53, was indicted by a grand jury on first-degree murder charges Tuesday, two months after she went missing.
The family of Suzanne revealed that the authorities informed them about finding her DNA on a motorized hand saw known as a handheld reciprocating saw, which was referenced in a recently unsealed indictment.
According to reports from My San Antonio, the indictment stated that Brad hid the saw on October 8, while being aware of an ongoing investigation into a missing person, with the purpose of hindering its availability as evidence in the investigation.
The indictment does not specify how he hid the weapon or where it was found.
Prosecutors also claimed in the indictment that the father-of-four tried to hide a machine gun that was not registered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives or in the National Firearms registration.
It is the same firearm that investigators say Brad had his friend and longtime business partner, James Cotter, hide for him after his wife disappeared.
The real estate tycoon was first arrested on October 9 in Kendall County – three days after the 51-year-old mother-of-four was last seen late out the front of her $1.5million home in San Antonio’s ritzy Olmos Park having an altercation with him.
Brad Simpson, 53, was indicted by a grand jury on first-degree murder charges, Tuesday two months after his wife, Suzanne Simpson, went missing
Police have said that Brad (pictured with Suzanne) showed ‘no emotion’ in the first few days of the missing persons investigation
A neighbor had claimed that shortly before 11pm on October 6, they witnessed Brad and Suzanne in the midst of a heated argument in their garage and were ‘physically struggling’ with each other.
At some point, they said Suzanne ‘was attempting to get away from Mr. Simpson’s grasp as he tried to pull her downward’, and he then chased after her when she ran away, per the affidavit.
The neighbor also allegedly claimed they heard screams from a wooded area, before Brad re-emerged around an hour later and drove off in his truck.
The Simpson’s five-year-old child was also questioned by a school counselor, and claimed that his father ‘pushed her mother against the wall, hit (physically) her mother on the face and hurt her mother’s elbow inside their residence.’
Brad also allegedly ‘turned off her mother’s phone because they were fighting,’ the child reportedly said.
Police now say Brad seen the following day with bulky garbage bags and ice coolers covered up in a tarp in the flatbed of his truck as he pulled into a Whataburger, according to the New York Post.
He allegedly bought concrete and visited a dump site before spending 13 minutes in nearby Bandera where he seemingly unloaded a large object from the bed of his pickup truck.
It was that day that Brad first reported his wife missing, and the next day he was reportedly seen buying Clorox wipes and cement.
Suzanne’s family has since said that authorities told them her DNA was found on a handheld reciprocating saw – a motorized hand saw, which was mentioned in a newly-unsealed indictment
In the first few days of the missing persons investigation, police said Brad showed ‘no emotion.’
They said he appeared ‘unconcerned about his wife being missing and showed little to no emotion,’ with a Texas ranger also observing that Brad had several scratches and lacerations on his hands and arms.
Detectives later explained that his chilling behavior was a factor in them believing Brad ‘intentionally and knowingly caused the death’ of his wife on October 6 in San Antonio.
They noted that Brad was initially cooperative with police, but said he then gave conflicting stories when pressed for details over his wife’s disappearance.
She was last seen walking through her exclusive Texas country club, hours before a neighbor said she got into a physical altercation with her husband
At first, Brad claimed he last saw her at 11pm on October 6, hours after Suzanne was last seen walking through her exclusive Texas country club.
But at another point he claimed he last saw her at around 6:30am on October 7, shortly before he said he dropped one of their children off at school.
He said he ‘peeked into a separate room and observed his wife asleep’ that morning.
When investigators searched through his phone, they reportedly found he had ‘engaged in a series of complete shutdowns’ starting at 11:09pm on October 6 and ending the next day.
He was allegedly going further than turning his phone off and instead put it on ‘Lock Down’ mode, which his arrest affidavit notes is classed by the FBI as ‘done by a person who wants to avoid detection.’
By the time Brad was originally arrested, officers said he ‘did not appear surprised at the time of his arrest’ nor ‘question’ why he was apprehended on charges of assault causing bodily injury, family violence and unlawful restraint.
A newly-unsealed affidavit said Brad tried to hide a machine gun that was not registered with the Bureau of Alcohol , Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives or in the National Firearms registration, which he later had his friend and longtime business partner, James Cotter (pictured), hide for him
Police also say Brad seen the following day with bulky garbage bags and ice coolers covered up in a tarp in the flatbed of his truck as he pulled into a Whataburger on October 7, the day he reported his wife missing
Brad is now facing charges of second degree tampering with evidence with the intent to impair a human corpse, third degree possession of prohibited weapons and third degree tampering/fabricating physical evidence with the intent to impair.
If found guilty, he could be sentenced anywhere from two to 99 years or life in prison, depending on the charges he is convicted of.
But his lawyer has argued that the prosecutors cannot charge Brad without saying how he may have killed his wife.
Public Defender Steven Gilmore said the indictment is ‘vague, indefinite, ambiguous and uncertain,’ and argued that if the indictment does not say how Simpson killed his wife or where he hid the body it is impossible to craft a reasonable defense.
He said the state must present more evidence before the prosecution continues.
Meanwhile, investigations are ongoing, and according to My San Antonio, local law enforcement has expanded its search to include other Simpson family properties.
Simpson and his family have an extensive real estate portfolio throughout San Antonio and broader Texas.
A thorough investigation of the four bed, five bath Olmos Park family home, worth an estimated $1.5million, has already taken place.
