The agony of murder haunts the exclusive enclaves of San Antonio, Texas, where 51 year old Suzanne Simpson, a mother of four, disappeared one year ago and is now presumed dead. Her husband, 54 year old Brad Simpson, a figure in real estate development who lived a privileged life, stands accused of killing her, yet the crucial piece of evidence, Suzanne’s body, has never been located. Suzanne, a luxury real estate agent, and Brad had been married for 22 years and had everything one could possibly imagine, but apparently, happiness was missing from their highly affluent life.
The disturbing details of this presumed murder case are compounded by the extreme emotional fallout affecting the victims' family. Suzanne’s sister, Teresa Clark, is now facing serious legal trouble, accused by police of harassing the family of the alleged killer. Teresa’s actions stem from her profound anguish and her desperate desire to achieve justice for Suzanne and locate her body. She was arrested on October 2 for four counts of harassment after allegedly conducting a vigorous media campaign against Brad Simpson's relatives. Police say Teresa made repeated calls to Brad’s family members, frequently after midnight, leaving messages warning that they did not know who they were dealing with and would face consequences.
Although her behavior is against the law, the depth of her pain is widely recognized; the law and deep human emotion are not always mutually exclusive. It is a stark example of the trauma that results when the criminal justice system moves at an agonizingly slow pace towards accountability. The stress is immense, particularly for Suzanne and Teresa’s mother, who is dealing with one daughter missing and presumed dead while the other faces criminal charges stemming directly from the tragedy.
The disappearance of Suzanne from her suburb home on October 6, 2024, followed a severe fight with Brad. This came after Suzanne had seemingly recognized her own risk, having allegedly told her banker a year prior that if anything ever happened to her, they should look for her in a lake.
That night, Suzanne and Brad attended a party at a historic, elite dining club in San Antonio with their five year old daughter, where the couple initially fought. Suzanne left the club with her daughter and went to a grocery store, confirmed by cell phone data. The violent confrontation began or resumed once they returned home. Suzanne was able to reach out to a friend, and then she called her mother, telling her that Brad had assaulted her, injuring her arm, back, and neck. Suzanne’s mother, Barbara Clark, tried immediately to call back with a plan for Suzanne and the children to come to her house, but she never got through. The reason she could not reach her daughter was that Suzanne’s cell phone service was disconnected at the request of the account subscriber. While Brad later claimed Suzanne had lost her phone at the grocery store, the family’s Find My Phone feature showed her phone was last active at the family home. Furthermore, police uncovered evidence that Brad had previously taken Suzanne’s phone away as a means of control.
When Suzanne returned home around 10 p.m., a neighbor witnessed Brad and Suzanne fighting physically outside their home. The neighbor claimed that after Suzanne broke free and Brad ran after her, they lost sight of the pair, but then heard screams coming from a wooded area bordering the Simpson property. About an hour after the screams, the neighbor reported hearing Brad’s truck start up, leave, and return an hour later. No one saw Suzanne again.
The morning after the screams were heard, Brad dropped off the five year old daughter at school. An hour later, Brad’s truck was captured on surveillance at a drive through restaurant. Police allege the camera showed three trash bags, a heavy duty trash can, and a bulky object wrapped in a blue tarp, which was secured by a metal firewood rack. Brad was tracked via cell phone data that day, and later surveillance footage captures him at a car wash. The blue tarp, firewood rack, and trash can were no longer visible in the truck.
Authorities noted that Brad focused his washing efforts on the driver’s front and rear passenger side, where dried cement splashes were later found. Brad also allegedly made highly suspicious purchases that morning at a home improvement store, including two bags of concrete, a construction bucket with a lid, heavy duty trash bags, Clorox spray, and insect repellent. The purchase of insect repellent, in particular, suggests an intent to deter the natural process of decomposition.
Further complicating Brad’s presumed innocence are the witnesses who spoke up. In the store parking lot, Brad allegedly asked a random person for directions to the nearest dump. License plate readers subsequently captured Brad traveling to and from that dump site. Even more powerfully, the five year old daughter allegedly told a school counselor the next morning that she had witnessed the fight, saying her father pushed her mother against the wall, hit her face, and hurt her elbow. The little girl also claimed Brad turned off Suzanne’s phone because they were fighting, aligning with the initial evidence collected by police.
The trauma affected the entire family. The four children, including the five year old witness and an adult daughter, face the immense pain of essentially losing both parents. Suzanne and Brad’s oldest daughter, Chandler, who was studying away from home, publicly implicated her father on Instagram, stating that her mother was a victim of abuse and that her father took her life in a state of rage and control. Adding to the highly unusual case, Brad’s own brother, Barton, spoke out publicly before Brad’s arrest, demanding that Brad come clean about what he knew, stating that the family would not rest until Suzanne was found.
Brad was arrested on charges of assault, family violence, and unlawful restraint, and police noted he did not appear surprised. Authorities claim that subsequent searches of the family home found wall damage consistent with the five year old’s statement about where her father hit her mother. At a property owned by Brad, police located a burn site where they found a burnt laptop and multiple cell phones belonging to Brad.
They also recovered notes from one of the phones where Brad allegedly apologized for physically assaulting his wife in August 2023 and again on October 6. Furthermore, authorities claim that Brad’s business associate, James Carter, was involved in helping Brad conceal firearms just days after Suzanne went missing. James was later charged with tampering with evidence and possessing a prohibited weapon after police recovered an illegally modified automatic rifle allegedly belonging to Brad, hidden behind a television wall mount on James’ property. Brad was eventually indicted for murder, tampering with evidence, intent to impair a corpse, and possession of prohibited weapons. Prosecutors noted another significant discovery in the indictment paperwork: they located a saw at Brad’s residence that tested positive for Suzanne’s blood.
Brad remains incarcerated on a three million dollar bond. Because the five year old is a direct witness to the alleged crime, Brad is forbidden from contacting her. The two older adult children have chosen to cut off all contact with their father. The children are currently residing with Brad’s brother, Barton, who has remained vocal about finding justice for Suzanne. Pretrial hearings are set for January of next year, with the murder trial scheduled for February. The search for Suzanne continues as the prosecution appears to be building a circumstantial case beyond a reasonable doubt, leaving the community awaiting the next development in this disturbing saga.