‘Killer’ husband of wealthy Texas realtor Suzanne Simpson suffers new blow in bid to toss murder case

A judge has delayed the decision on whether to throw out the murder case against the husband accused of killing his wealthy Texas realtor wife, whose body has yet to be found.

Brad Simpson, 54, was arrested three days after his wife, 51-year-old Suzanne, was spotted by a neighbor in a late-night argument with him outside her $1.5 million home in San Antonio’s ritzy Olmos Park neighborhood in October of last year.

The couple’s ‘screaming’ altercation marked the last time the mother-of-four was seen alive. 

Brad has since been indicted on first-degree felony murder charges and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon causing serious bodily injuries – charges that carry a maximum life sentence in prison.

He is also facing charges of tampering with a corpse, as well as two counts of tampering with physical evidence and possession of a prohibited weapon.

However, on Tuesday, Brad’s defense attorney argued for a judge to declare his indictment invalid, which would prevent him from standing trial on the charges, San Antonio Express-News reported.

In the hearing, Steven Gilmore, Brad’s attorney, argued before state district Judge Joel Perez that the lack of details in his client’s indictment violates his constitutional rights ‘because he is not able to prepare a defense’. 

Gilmore also withdrew portions of his original motion filed in February, and instead shifted the focus to a specific paragraph.

The paragraph in question, he argued, stated that the indictment was ‘too vague’ regarding how the state believes Brad caused his wife’s death.

In the original indictment handed down by a Bexar County grand jury, Brad allegedly killed his wife ‘by a manner and means unknown’, later concealing both a power saw and an automatic weapon after her disappearance ‘knowing that an investigation was in process’. 

Gilmore argued that Brad has the right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusations against him through US and state constitutions.

Casey Sandoval, the lead prosecutor in the case, disagreed, arguing that the state doesn’t need to prove how Brad killed his wife, only that he intended to do so and ultimately caused her death, Express-News reported.

Additionally, Sandoval stated that a medical examiner’s determination of Suzanne’s cause of death is not required to move forward with prosecuting her husband for the crime.

‘The law doesn’t reward people who are disposing of the bodies of their victims,’ Sandoval said, according to Express-News.

‘The case law is clear that the state does not need to prove how Simpson murdered Suzanne Simpson.’

The judge’s decision is due on April 29.

Authorities said Suzanne, who worked for Nix Realty Company, went missing after attending a party at The Argyle in the Alamo Heights neighborhood, according to The Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 

The following night, it was Suzanne’s friends who got in touch with police to report her missing, followed by a voicemail left by Brad almost 15 minutes later. 

Authorities believe Suzanne died on October 6 of 2024 – the last time she was seen alive – as they have not found any evidence of life from cellphone records, financial records, family, friends and co-workers. 

In a 15-page affidavit supporting Brad’s arrest, Olmos Park Police Lt. Hector Ruiz described his movements on the night his wife was last seen alive to the next day, when she was reported missing.   

A neighbor told police that he heard the couple arguing from his window on the night of October 6, a Sunday, and witnessed the pair in a physical fight, with Brad ‘grabbing her upper torso area to gain control of her body,’ the police report claimed.

After the alleged fight carried on for several minutes, the neighbor said he went outside with a flashlight to look for the couple.

He then reportedly rushed back inside after hearing screams coming from a wooded area across from his home.

An hour later, he claimed that Brad took off in his truck before returning to the home a few hours later, according to the police report.

The couple’s youngest child told Howard Elementary School staff that her father hit her mother in the face and had possibly pushed her into a wall that same night, resulting in an elbow injury.

The child also allegedly told staff that her father had taken away her mother’s cellphone before turning it off, according to The Express-News. 

Police were able to spot Brad on CCTV footage with three white trash bags, a heavy-duty trash can, an ice chest and a ‘large bulky item wrapped and secured in a blue tarp’ held down by a firewood rack in the bed of his truck.

It was discovered that he had bought two bags of cement, a construction bucket, a box of heavy-duty trash bags, Clorox disinfectant spray and insect repellant with cash from a nearby Home Depot. 

Before he made his purchases, he had asked an unknown man in the parking lot for directions to the nearest dump in Boerne. 

Later that morning, Simpson’s truck was spotted at a gas station with the white trash bags missing. However, the blue tarp, firewood rack and trash can were still in the bed of his vehicle. 

When he was seen picking up one of his children from school, the bed of his truck appeared to be clear of the blue tarp and metal firewood rack.

He was then spotted on security footage less than an hour later, ‘washing and cleaning the drive front side and the rear-left passenger side’ of his truck at a car wash.

On October 9, Texas Rangers found a ground-level burn site at the Simpsons’ property and recovered a burnt laptop and three cellphones belonging to Brad. 

He was ultimately arrested in connection with Suzanne’s murder, though her body remains missing.

The affidavit alleged that Brad ‘did not appear surprised at the time of his arrest’ nor ‘question’ why he was apprehended. 

Detectives said his cold behavior was a contributing factor to his arrest. They said they believed Brad ‘intentionally and knowingly caused the death’ of his wife. 

Investigators eventually found Suzanne’s DNA on Brad’s power saw, according to Express-News. The DNA was reportedly part of the evidence presented to the grand jury.

Brad is currently being held at the Bexar County jail on a $5 million bail. If the judge ultimately throws out his indictment, the state can still decide to re-indict him at a later time.