Now part of the Dark Cast Network. Welcome to Indie Podcasts With a dark side. At 3pm on October 7, 2024, administrators at the Howard Early Childhood center called Brad Simpson. His five year old daughter hadn’t been picked up from school, something his wife, Suzanne never failed to do. By that evening, Suzanne’s friends became worried. She wasn’t answering her phone and no one had seen her since the night before. One friend called Brad direct, asking if he had reported her missing. He hadn’t. When the friend said that she was going to report Suzanne missing herself, Brad finally left a voicemail for the almost park police chief, claiming he hadn’t seen Suzanne since 11pm the previous night and that she’d lost her phone at heb. Now, for those of you who don’t know what H E B is, it’s a popular grocery chain in parts of the U.S. however, his call came 14 minutes after his wife’s friend had already filed the report herself. Welcome LaMs. Welcome to Love and Heartbreak. To Homicide, the weekly true crime podcast that tells you real stories of relationships that turn deadly. I’m Kai, and around here I tell these cases with the victim in mind. So you might hear a little passion, you might hear a little frustration, you might hear and maybe you might hear a few rants along the way. Before we jump in, a quick thank you to the people who keep this podcast going. My LaM Patreon Fam over on Patreon, Love and Murder is 100% listener funded, which means every bonus episode, every deep dive, and every voice we amplify exists because of you. If you’re not part of the LaM Patreon Fam yet, head on over to our Patreon. Patreon.com loveandmurder you’ll get ad free episodes, exclusive bonus content, behind the scene extras, and early access to new episodes, all while helping us continue giving victims a voice. Patreon.com loveandmurder now, before we get into it, I do want to shout out a podcast that I was recently on as a guest host, Tragedy with a View. The link to the YouTube video is in the show notes below. So on this podcast, this was Bear month for them. And the story we discussed was in 2005 where Greg and Matt Matthews sat themselves in the Alaskan brush with bow in hand. Matt had a moose call, and as hours turned into days, they were just waiting for their opportunity to bring home a prize. And the prize was a freezer full of meat to help feed Matt’s family. What they hadn’t expected was to instead find themselves in a life or death situation which led to Greg’s wild awakening. It was an insane story of a bear attack and you don’t want to miss it again. The Link to this YouTube video is in the show notes below. Also, before we get started, be sure to stay to the end of this episode. I have a surprising update on one of our past cases for you. Now grab your butts, grab your delicious glass of apple juice and let’s get back into this case of love and murder. Side note, this case is still ongoing, so I’m going to start out by saying that everything said here is alleged on October 8, 2024, Suzanne was officially listed as a missing person. Flyers went out that afternoon and the community rallied to search for her. The official Texas Department of Public Safety Missing Person Report listed Suzanne Clark Simpson as case number M M2410003, saying that she was last seen in Omos Park, Ber county on October 7, 2024. 51 year old Suzanne and 53 year old Brad had been married for 22 years, raising four children together. Friends and acquaintances described them as an established couple in the community, with Brad working as a businessman while Suzanne pursued a career as a realtor. Their family life revolved around their children, three older ones and their youngest, a five year old. The couple maintained an air of normalcy and to outsiders they seemed like the so ideal American family. Brad’s longtime business partner and friend, James V. Cotter, also known as James Val Cotter or in some other reports, James Vale Cotter, was the son of the late San Antonio real estate tycoon, uh, James F. Cotter. The two had been close for years and had even faced legal troubles together through their business ventures in the weeks leading up to her disappearance. So Suzanne had made it clear to several people that she was scared and that she was being hurt in her house. Friends and family actually told investigators that things had been bad between the two for a long time. As a matter of fact, just an hour before she vanished, she had called her mother, Barbara Clark around 9pm to say that Brad had assaulted her. He’d hurt her arm and her back, Barbara said. Suzanne sounded shaken. She, quote, told me things that Brad had done to her physically and suggested that the violence was alcohol related. Now, this wasn’t the first time Suzanne had confided in someone about the abuse. Back in August 2024, she told her personal banker at Frost bank that Brad had been physically abusive and often took away her phone to control her. One time she even told the banker that if she ever went missing they should, quote, look for her in the lake. Now, you know, you have to be desperate if the person you confide in is your banker. Like, she didn’t even confide in her friends, family, her banker. You. You have to be desperate. Like, maybe she thinks that friends or family are going to go back to him and tell him that, I don’t know. I don’t. Maybe she was just. Maybe it was just the mood. Like something had happened that day. And the next person she had seen was the banker. So told the banker everything. And then Brad, uh, would always cover up the abuse by telling their children that Suzanne had simply lost her phone whenever he took it away from her. The night she disappeared, October 6, 2024, Suzanne was last seen wearing a black dress and black heels. She was described as being 5 foot 5 and around 140 pounds. Investigators said they spoke to everyone, her friends, co workers, and families. And they all agreed on one thing. Suzanne would never just walk away from her children. That same night, Suzanne and Brad had been at the Argyll, an exclusive club in Alamo Heights. Witnesses saw them arguing before Suzanne left with their daughter around 8:30pm Surveillance footage later showed Suzanne at HEB at 8:51pm and calling her mother and calling a friend. At 9:16pm her cell service was abruptly suspended while. While she was still on the phone with her mother. Then, between 10 and 11pm A neighbor across the street heard loud arguing outside and looked out of the window. You know, it’s them, nosy neighbors. But those are the ones that can help you the most in court because they document everything. He saw Brad grabbing Suzanne by the upper torso, trying to stop her from leaving. She broke free and ran, but he chased her after losing sight of the couple. Like I said, nosy neighbors. The concerned neighbor went outside with his flashlight to investigate. Moments later, they heard two or three screams coming from a wooden area east of his home. About an hour later, Brad’s truck left the house, Returning roughly two hours later. No one ever saw Suzanne again. You see what I’m saying? This dude documented everything. He watched Brad grab Suzanne by the torso. She ran. He ran after her. This person went outside with a flashlight to, quote, investigate. There would be never in the history of ever that I’m going outside to see what’s happening. If I’m so worried, I’m calling 91 1. Then he noted that the scream was coming east of his home and that an hour later. So, like, you were just sitting there watching outside your window to find out that an hour later, that’s when Brad’s truck left the house and then got back. Uh, did you sleep at all that night? Now, uh, look, I’m not getting on the messy neighbor. I’m just shocked because I wouldn’t be this invested. But if it wasn’t for somebody who is this invested, police would have nothing to go by. Instead, they have an eyewitness. So the next morning, Brad dropped his daughter off at School at 7:53am Surveillance footage showed two white trash bags and an ice chest in the truck. By 9:12am A Whataburger camera showed three trash bags, A, uh, heavy duty trash can, and a large bulky object wrapped in a blue tarp with a metal firewood rack placed on top. An hour later, the tarp and bags were gone. That same morning, her five year old daughter told school staff that her father had pushed her mother against the wall, hit her in the face, hurt her elbow and taken her phone away because they were fighting. Now this is the image you left your 5 year old daughter with you pushing your wife against a wall and hitting her in the face and hurting her. Are you insane? Suzanne’s older daughter also provided investigators with a, uh, find my iPhone screenshot showing her mother’s last known ping was at the family’s house at 10:22pm on Sunday night. Now this case has evolved from a missing persons investigation into a hybrid missing person slash possible murder investigation. Investigators quickly focused on Brad’s behavior following October 6th. FBI forensic examiners saw that Brad had started cycling his cell phone on and off, on and off, on and off, starting at 11pm the night of the disappearance. A, uh, technique the forensic examiners called, quote, lockdown mode. And they said this is used to deter device tracking and avoid detection. Nevertheless, police were able to track Brad’s movements in his pickup truck. Through cell and vehicle data combined with surveillance footage, police saw that Brad had made several stops that morning. Home Depot, a solid waste site in Bourne, and later a car wash at Home Depot. He bought two bags of Quickrite cement, a Home Depot brand bucket with a lid, heavy duty trash bags, Clorox disinfectant spray and insect repellent, all paid for with cash. He also stopped to ask a fellow shopper for directions to the nearest dump in Bourne. After leaving, the three white trash bags were gone from his truck. He then traveled to Medina county, just outside of Bandera, where He stayed for 13 minutes. On the way back to San Antonio, surveillance footage showed a blue tarp concealing the large bulky item was no longer in the bed of his truck. By 3:27pm when he picked his daughter up, school surveillance captured his truck, this time missing the firewood rack that always had been in the back. Instead, there was a trash can and an ice chest in the bed, but his truck was now mostly empty. Later that afternoon, Brad took his truck to the car wash, where he was seen cleaning the driver, front side and rear left passenger side of the car. He was also seen scrubbing the inside and bed of his truck. After tracking his movements, police then started investigating his properties. And on one of his properties in Bandera county discovered a, uh, ground level burn site. Now, not long after Suzanne’s disappearance, Brad had left their family home and moved into the home on this property. Inside the burn site were the charred remains of electronics that belonged to him, a laptop and three phones. Forensics were able to recover notes from one of the phones, which were dated October 8th and titled, quote, this next life and quote, last will and testament. In them, Brad apologized for assaulting Suzanne that night and for previous incidents. Throughout all of this, Bran’s brother Barton told investigators that the two hadn’t spoken in a long time. Barton said Brad had become, quote, unrecognizable from the brother he once knew. Brad was arrested in the early morning hours of October 9th. He was initially charged with the misdemeanors of assault, causing bodily injury to a family member and unlawful restraint. Based on the neighbor’s eyewitness account, he was held on a $2 million bond. Defense attorneys argued that this high bond was probably because prosecutors were trying to hold him on higher charges, even though at the time he wasn’t identified as a suspect in Susan’s disappearance. After his arrest, detectives found that on October 8, 2024, Brad had text James V. Cotter asking him for help to hide a weapon. Now, I always say, don’t call me for help to hide guns to hide a bo. Do not call me. Because if you call me, then I know right away that you just wanted to get caught. Because I let everybody know I’m singing like all the birds in the rainforest. I’m gonna give you everything. I’m where I met you. How old we were when I, uh, I met him? When we were two, we used to take Basti. Look, I’m telling everything. So according to Brad’s text, he said, quote, if you’re in Bandera, can you haul ass and meet me at the house? And quote, okay, make sure and leave all that s in the pump house, especially the gun. James replied, quote, get over here. I won’t tell anyone. And quote, you’re my brother. Yeah, I’ll tell you all that. But trust and believe. I’m telling. Whatever you tell me I’m telling. Don’t break the law and then come to me and ask for help. Like, period. Especially if you murdered somebody. I’m not the one. Police also found a reciprocating saw in Brad’s possession. And uh, forensic testing showed that Suzanne’s DNA was on it. Now really, that could mean anything. It could mean that she picked it up yesterday, she picked it up the day of her disappearance. That could mean anything. So unless the DNA was found in a way consistent with somebody had sawed up a body with that saw, I can’t see why it would be relevant to a murder investigation. Because you could get your DNA on anything. She could have picked it up like I said. So unless the DNA came from like blood splatter or something, then I can understand. Investigators also confirmed that that Brad had logged into the AT&T app, uh, at that exact time Suzanne’s phone had been cut off. They determined that he had logged in to turn her phone off. Also, that dried cement had been found on the rear passenger side of Brad’s car. Remember when he was washing it. Investigators also arrested James cotter. You see why I’m not the one to come to if you’ve murdered somebody? Um, yeah. I’m not getting arrested with you. So. James Cotter was arrested on October 21st for helping Brad hide a weapon. Police found Brad’s AK40, AK47. Wow. Behind a wall mounted TV in James’s bedroom. He was charged with tampering with evidence and possession of a prohibited weapon. The next day, October 22, 2024, Brad was charged with felony evidence tampering and possession and illegal weapon that was linked to the exchange with James in Brad’s house. Police had also discovered what they described as a walk in vault filled with weapons. So he was also forced a federal hold from the u. S. Bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives for the fact that he had the vault filled with firearms and due to an illegal short barreled rifle discovered around all of his guns. So in November, James posted a bond after the amount was reduced from 1 million to $100,000. And finally, November 7, 2024, Brad was formally charged with murder. In early December, a bexar county grand jury indicted Brad on four counts. Murder tampering with a corpse, tampering with physical evidence with intent to impair human courts and possession of a prohibited weapon. Bran pleaded wet lambs not guilty. His attorney argued that without A body. Prosecutors couldn’t prove murder, saying that indictments were, quote, vague and didn’t specify how Suzann was killed. Judge Joel Perez denied the motion, saying actually that there was enough evidence for the case to proceed. A crucial piece of evidence that was revealed in the indictment was that Brad had tried to hide that reciprocating saw from investigators on or about Oct. 8, and his goal in doing this was to impair its availability as evidence. Now, if you weren’t aware, because this is like the second time I mention in a reciprocating saw, and I have lambs from all over the world, so in another country, they might call this something different. So I’m just going to say that it is a powerful tool, and this reciprocating saw is capable of cutting through wood, hard plastic, metal and bone. Investigators had informed family members that Suzanne’s DNA had been identified on the saw. So at, uh, one of Brad’s preliminary hearings, the prosecution and defense spoke as they normally do. And the prosecution made it clear that their case was going to rely on a clear timeline, one that pointed straight to Brad. The suspicious trips he made to the Hill country, his purchase of cement and disinfectant, the saw with Suzanne’s DNA on it that he tried to hide, and the burned digital devices that they later found. Also, Suzanne’s last known movements, Brad’s phone and car data, the neighbor’s eyewitness account, notes written by Brad himself admitting to the assaults, their daughter’s statement that she saw Brad hit her mother, and finally, Suzanne’s own words to friends and family that she was afraid of him. Now, although all that is circumstantial, that’s what you call a ton load of evidence. Do you hear me? Prosecutors said that all of this points to a clear picture. Quote, there are no signs of Suzanne Simpson being alive since Brad Simpson physically assaulted her. Brad’s defense attorney, Steven Gilmore, had been pushing hard against the state’s case from the very beginning. It’s like, soon as you were hired, okay, the state’s wrong. You’re right. Let’s go. Their main argument centered on one thing. Nobody. As some people like to say, nobody. No crime. But that’s not true. Attorney Gilmore filed a motion to quash the murder indictment, arguing that it’s, quote, vague, indefinite, ambiguous, and uncertain. Sir, all the evidence is there pointing to the fact that she didn’t just up and leave her kids. Something happened. His claim is that because Suzanne’s body hadn’t been found, prosecutors haven’t identified the, quote, manner and Means of death, meaning how she was killed or where she was even hidden. Attorney Gilmore says that this makes it impossible for the defense to build a fair case. Legal experts have said that this type of motion doesn’t usually succeed, but it’s a calculated move, basically forcing the prosecution to reveal more details. They call it a smart strategy in a no body case, since those are rare and gives the defense a little bit of leverage. Prosecutors pushed back, however, arguing that under Texas law, a murder case doesn’t need a body to move forward. Meanwhile, Barton went public with an emotional plea, urging Brad to come clean. He’s not going to achieve anything unless he’s honest, unless he confesses, unless he tells us what he’s done. On April 29, 2025, Judge Perez denied the defense’s motion to quash the indictment, ruling that prosecutors had provided sufficient evidence to let the murder charge stand. In September 2025, Judge Perez modified Brad’s no contact order to allow limited conversations with his son Rowan, specifically about parenting issues, while still prohibiting discussion of the case. The judge has set the pretrial hearing for January 20, 2026, with jury selection scheduled to begin on February 13, 2026. And Brad’s trial is set for February 2026. He remains in the Bexar County Jail on a $3 million bond. The family home in Olmos park has since been sold for $1.2 million, with the proceeds placed in a trust for their four children. Suzanne’s body has never been found. Her mother still believes she’s gone, saying, quote, I don’t think she is because I have not heard from her, saying, basically she doesn’t think she’s alive because if she was alive, Suzanne would have tried everything to, like, reach out to her mom. For now, her family continues to wait for answers and justice. The search for Suzanne continues, with investigators trying every avenue to provide justice and closure for the family. And that’s the case of an allegedly abusive man who allegedly murdered his wife. And although alleged, there’s so much alleged information. What did you think of this case? I would love to hear your thoughts. You can share them in the comments below or join the conversation over in the patreon patreon.com loveandmurder and speaking of your comments, uh, let me read a couple comments from a past episode. As usual, if you missed this case, the link to listen will be in the show notes below. So the first comment comes from the episode titled My Brother Shot Everyone. The staged massacre of the Hummingston family, Mark and Sarah Hummington, and what this case was about was you remember the 15 year old who called 911 in Fall City, Washington, and he told police that his little brother had shot everybody in the house and then killed himself. But, you know, he left him alive. But then when police got there, everything didn’t look like the 15 year old had said. So I did that case not too long ago. So the first comment comes from lam user chuggalugdana. They said here in Washington, people who live outside of the metropolitan areas typically lock their doors because criminals look for unoccupied properties during the off season. So most country folks I know maintain the habit all year round. So that was in response to me asking, like, who doesn’t lock their door? Um, so thank you, Chuggalug. Yeah, because I, I was just, I. That’s the same thing I’m thinking not, not even that, you know, unoccupied properties or anything like that. But, you know, I guess I did true crime and I was like this before I even did true crime. Like people are going to try the easy way to get into a property, a car, stuff like that, and you never know if your house is the one that they’re going to try. So I just never understood keeping my door unlocked and then, you know, watching true crime and then doing true crime. Now I’m not even thinking about thieves. I’m thinking about murderers, also serial killers, stuff like this, you know. The next comment comes from LaM Patreon Black Ivy. They said if a child murders an adult like an adult, then he or she should be treated like an adult and face the consequences. 10 out of 10 times, 100%. So he’s 15. He knows, right? He knows right from wrong. Period, point blank. You know, hurting people bad, you’ve known that since you were three, you know, so let alone hurting people now, killing people, you know, that’s bad. So I, yeah, I wouldn’t have been like, well, he’s a kid in his prefrontal cortexes. Uh, no, absolutely not. You know, it was wrong to murder your entire family to the point where you came up with a whole plan to try and get it done. And like I said, if you haven’t heard this case, the link to it is in the show notes below. You can hear what I’m ranting about right now and you can hear my rant during the episode. And that is all the comments I’m reading today. I know it was just two, but, um, I’m trying to get back to reading to your comments. I did promise you an update on a previous case, so if you remembered earlier in season five, I covered the case of Brendan Banfield. This case happened on, uh, February 24, 2023, where Fairfax county police had responded to a call in Herndon, Virginia. 37 year old pediatric nurse Christine Banfield was found stabbed to death in her bedroom while 38 year old Joseph Ryan, a, uh, man she allegedly met online, was found shot in the head and chest. Her husband, IRS agent Brendan Banfield, claimed he shot Joseph after finding him attacking his wife. But as usual, the evidence told a different story. Investigators discovered Brendan and the family’s 24 year old Brazilian au pair, Juliana Magaly Haynes, had been having an affair and had allegedly lured Joseph to the home using a fake BDSM profile. Posing as Christine, both were charged with murder. Juliana later pled guilty to manslaughter and agreed to testify against Brendan. Because that’s what you get. You had a wife, you decided to cheat on her with some other woman. And then allegedly, y’ all did this. And then the other woman was like, yo, I’m not going to jail for this dude. So yeah, I’ll testify against him. That’s what the f you get. Allegedly. So this trial was supposed to start on October 20, 2025, which was just a couple days ago, but something happened on October 16, 2025. The lead prosecutor had been replaced. I know y’ all are just like, wt the F. Well, your jaw is about to drop even lower. The lead prosecutor, Eric Clingan, had legal troubles of his own. The report initially said that he was placed on leave for a, quote, personal matter. But we later came to learn that that personal matter was that a little after 8am on Aug. 8, Fairfax County Police had found Eric drinking and smoking next to his parked car in the back of a Goodwill parking lot. Quote, this is a commonwealth attorney that’s drunk. A police officer is heard saying in police body cam footage. That footage will be in the Patreon for the LaM Fam to watch. So if you’re part of the lam fam at $3 a month or more, you get that as part of your extras. And this, that body cam footage, I think is like an hour long or whatever. And it shows that since they arrived at his car until they dropped him off at his home, so that’s why it’s so long. And you just hear them talking to him and the type of stuff they’re saying because somebody recognizes him, they’re trying to help him. They, you know, don’t want this to get out and everything like that. So it’s a Lot of stuff in the video. So Eric responded with, quote, I’m going to head to work and forget all about this. He was then cited for drinking in public. He wasn’t cuffed, and the officers drove him back to his home. And he was sitting in the front seat of the cruiser and everything like that. So they didn’t want to embarrass him. During the drive, he said, quote, this looks terrible. And I get it. So because of this, instead of the Banfield trial starting on the 20th, it has now been pushed back to January 2026. Can you believe this update now? I mean, you were the lead prosecutor. Like, I, I, I don’t know, I don’t know what to say about it. I just, I mean, I have so much to say about it, but it’s just not coming, you know, it’s not. Tell me your thoughts. Let me put it that way. Maybe your thoughts are my thoughts and it can get my thoughts together because there’s just so much going on in my head and I don’t even know how to piece it together. I just, uh. Anyways, let me know your thoughts on the Suzanne Simpson case and the Banfield update. You can leave your comments below or in the Patreon patreon.com forward/loveandmurder and that’s it for today’s episode. I know this episode came out late, but it’s here. It’s here. Thank you so much for being so patient with me. I love my lambs and I love that y’ all let me be human when I need to be human. I love that y’ all let me get my mental health together when I need to get my mental health together. I appreciate that y’ all allow me to let the AIs do, um, some of my episodes when I’m sick or when I’m off or whatever. And y’ all allow them to do Wednesdays and Fridays without complaint. I am so thankful to y’, all, y’, all, really. I think, I think, anyways, y’ all really do care. So I’m so thankful to you. And I want y’ all to know that for real, 100%. If you want more true crime with me or just to support the victim stories that I’ve talked about, you can join the lamb [email protected] forward/loveandmurder. There you’ll find full bonus episodes, ad free listening and behind the scene extras waiting for you. Plus, your support helps me keep telling these stories and being a voice of the victims who can’t speak for themselves. Join the LaM Patreon fam at patreon.com loveandmurder and help keep Love and Murder listener powered. And like I end every full episode, I wanna remind you that it’s say it with me now. All. Ah, love and no murder, y’. All. You know, I really need to get my new merch out. With my all love and no murder and some of my other slogans out there, I am definitely working on the store to try and get it open before November. Uh, positive thoughts, Positive thoughts. We gonna get it going. It’s just. It’s hard when it’s just me. You know what I’m saying? But thanks for listening. Once again, thank you for all your support, and I will see you in the next episode. Bye. Um, Sa.