{"id":457723,"date":"2026-10-06T06:24:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T06:24:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/457723\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T06:24:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T06:24:12","slug":"two-years-after-suzanne-simpson-vanished-murder-case-against-husband-moves-toward-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/457723\/","title":{"rendered":"Two years after Suzanne Simpson vanished, murder case against husband moves toward trial"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN ANTONIO \u2014 Two years after Olmos Park mother and realtor Suzanne Simpson disappeared, her body has still not been found, but the murder case against her husband is moving toward a possible trial.<\/p>\n

Brad Simpson is charged with murder in Suzanne Simpson\u2019s death, along with related charges including tampering with evidence and possession of a prohibited weapon. He has remained in custody since his arrest days after Suzanne was last seen alive on Oct. 6, 2024.<\/p>\n

At a Sept. 30 pretrial hearing, Judge Joel Perez asked prosecutors and defense attorneys to develop a scheduling order establishing deadlines for the remaining discovery, pretrial hearings and trial preparation. The two sides have discussed trying the case in February, though no firm trial date has been set.<\/p>\n

Defense attorney Jonathan Chavez has tried high-profile murder cases like this one, and he says it’s not uncommon to take years to reach a jury.<\/p>\n

“Stuff like this can take a long, long, long time… when you’re trying to put a big case like this together,” he explained.<\/p>\n

Suzanne Simpson, a mother of four, was reported missing after she and Brad Simpson attended a party at the Argyle Club in Alamo Heights.<\/p>\n

\"Media<\/p>\n

Media attention often pushes law enforcement to keep a missing persons case in focus, especially when the public is actively engaged. (Nix Realty)<\/p>\n

Full timeline of Suzanne Simpson’s disappearance and Brad Simpson’s arrest<\/a><\/p>\n

Searches, evidence and a case without a body<\/p>\n

Witnesses say Brad and Suzanna got into a “verbal altercation” at the party, and Suzanne left with their daughter around 8:30 p.m. Surveillance video from inside a nearby H-E-B shows Suzanne and their daughter shortly after they left the Argyle.<\/p>\n

Court documents say Suzanne called her mother that evening, saying Brad had just assaulted her, causing pain to her arm, back, and neck.<\/p>\n

The disappearance prompted extensive searches, including searches at landfills in multiple counties. Despite those efforts, Suzanne Simpson\u2019s remains have not been recovered.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors can still pursue a murder case without a body, but the evidence presented to a jury could be central.<\/p>\n

Court records have outlined the evidence investigators say they collected: surveillance video, vehicle-location data, phone records, store receipts, burned electronic devices and witness accounts.<\/p>\n

\"Brad<\/p>\n

Brad Simpson is charged with the murder of his wife Suzanne back in October 2024. (SBG San Antonio)<\/p>\n

According to the arrest affidavit, a neighbor reported hearing Brad and Suzanne Simpson arguing outside their Olmos Park home the night she disappeared and described seeing what appeared to be a physical struggle. The neighbor told investigators Suzanne ran toward a wooded area and Brad Simpson followed; the neighbor later reported hearing screaming.<\/p>\n

Investigators also cited surveillance video and location data that they say showed Brad Simpson\u2019s truck in the Boerne area the following day. The affidavit alleges he bought cement, trash bags, disinfectant, and other items before his truck was seen near a Kendall County waste facility.<\/p>\n

Suzanne Simpson\u2019s DNA was later identified on a motorized saw, according to the indictment. Prosecutors allege Brad Simpson concealed the saw to hinder the investigation and tampered with evidence involving a human corpse. The murder indictment alleges he caused Suzanne Simpson\u2019s death by a manner and means unknown to the grand jury.<\/p>\n

Brad Simpson has pleaded not guilty.<\/p>\n

What remains before trial<\/p>\n

The court is still working through evidence review and solidifying witness lists. Certain material previously reviewed by the court under a protective order has been provided to the defense.<\/p>\n

The judge also addressed the state\u2019s request for a pretrial determination on \u201cforfeiture by wrongdoing.\u201d The legal doctrine can allow certain statements from an unavailable witness to be admitted if prosecutors establish the defendant wrongfully caused that witness to be unavailable.<\/p>\n

Rather than holding a separate hearing before trial, Judge Perez said he would consider the issue during trial as it arises with individual witnesses.<\/p>\n

A gag order remains in place in the case, limiting what attorneys and others involved can say publicly. We asked the Texas Rangers whether the investigation remains active and whether any additional searches for Suzanne Simpson are underway.<\/p>\n

“Since this is still an active and ongoing investigation, we have no information to provide,” a spokesperson responded.<\/p>\n

Separate case against James \u201cVal\u201d Cotter<\/p>\n

James \u201cVal\u201d Cotter, Brad Simpson\u2019s longtime business partner, also faces charges connected to the investigation.<\/p>\n

Cotter is charged with tampering with evidence and possession of a prohibited weapon. Authorities allege he hid a fully automatic AK-47 for Brad Simpson two days after Suzanne disappeared.<\/p>\n

Court records say investigators recovered the firearm inside a wall at Cotter\u2019s home. An arrest affidavit also described text messages in which Brad Simpson allegedly asked Cotter to leave items \u2014 \u201cespecially the gun\u201d \u2014 in a pump house.<\/p>\n

\"James<\/p>\n

James Cotter, a business associate of murder suspect Brad Simpson, appeared in court Thursday morning for a hearing to modify his bond conditions. (SBG San Antonio)<\/p>\n

“Are we likely to see even more of this back and forth between the two of them?” Reporter Jordan Elder asked about the upcoming trials.<\/p>\n

“I would imagine so,” Chavez said. “Between communications like that, a lot of times you can draw intent and stuff like that from what somebody was wanting to do or not wanting to.”<\/p>\n

Chavez also says the gun could be key evidence in these trials, especially who handled it and when.<\/p>\n

Cotter has not been scheduled for trial and is expected back in court in January.<\/p>\n

For Suzanne Simpson\u2019s loved ones, the two-year mark brings another painful reminder of the mother, daughter, and friend they loved. There is a memorial fund <\/a>established in her honor, friends advocate for domestic violence awareness, and the rows of the courtroom are often packed with people supporting Suzanne, wearing pink or purple in her honor.<\/p>\n

With prosecutors and defense attorneys now working toward trial deadlines, the case may be closer than ever to being heard by a jury.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN ANTONIO \u2014 Two years after Olmos Park mother and realtor Suzanne Simpson disappeared, her body has still…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":457724,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[82,84,83],"class_list":["post-457723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=457723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457723\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/457724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=457723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=457723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=457723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}