close
close

Association-anemone

Bite-sized brilliance in every update

    • San Antonio mother Suzanne Simpson missing since Oct. 6 fight with husband
    asane

    San Antonio mother Suzanne Simpson missing since Oct. 6 fight with husband

    Online Niel Posted on

    A Texas mother of four has been missing for nearly three weeks following a fight with her husband, who investigators are calling uncooperative.

    Authorities in the San Antonio region searched Suzanne Clark Simpsona real estate agent who police say was last seen outside her home in suburban Olmos Park on Oct. 6 and reported missing the next day.

    “We are very concerned,” Olmos Park Police Chief Fidel Villegas said at a news conference earlier this month.

    A neighbor reported seeing an argument between Simpson and her husband Brad turn physical after they returned from a party near their home on Oct. 6, according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by KSAT-TV. The neighbor reported hearing two or three screams a short time later, the affidavit said.

    “We are devastated by the loss of my sister,” Simpson’s sister, Teresa Clark, WOAI-TV said. “The search will continue and we will not stop until we find her. We will bring Suzanne home because Suzanne was an incredible mother, daughter, sister. And she was a beloved person to the San Antonio community.”

    She went on to tell the station that Simpson “has a big tribe and a big family because we’re determined to find her… We’re going to bring her home.”

    Here’s what you need to know about the case.

    Husband, business partner arrested as search continues

    In the midst of the search for Simpson, authorities arrested her husband, Brad Simpson, and his business partner, James Vallee Cotter. According to the arrest affidavit obtained by KSAT-TVBrad Simpson was “uncooperative” with the investigation and did not show up for a subsequent interview.

    Brad Simpson, according to KSAT’s copy of the arrest affidavit, “appeared to be separated from his family” and had sought refuge at his farm in Bandera County. He was arrested on October 9, three days after his wife was last seen, according to reports Report by the Austin American Statesman, part of the USA TODAY Network.

    He was charged with unlawful restraint, assault causing bodily harm to a family member, prohibited weapons possession and tampering with evidence, court records show. A federal complaint was also filed against him alleging that he had an unregistered rifle on him.

    The Department of Public Safety announced the arrest of his business partner, James Vallee Cotter, on Tuesday. Cotter was charged with prohibited weapons possession. No attorney has been listed for Cotter.

    Cotter is accused of hiding an AK-47 in the wall of his home because Brad Simpson asked him to, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by KENS-TV.

    The charges against the husband are “ridiculous”, says the lawyer

    Steven Gilmore, Brad Simpson’s court-appointed attorney, did not respond to USA TODAY’s requests for comment.

    On a Thursday interview with the San Antonio Express-News, Gilmore called the charges against Brad Simpson “ridiculous” and said the case was “a ploy to incapacitate him, to keep him in custody.”

    “It’s ridiculous that he’s being held on $2 million bail for misdemeanor cases that the state knows it can’t and won’t even try to prove,” Gilmore told the paper. “They won’t even submit these files. And they don’t want to file these files, because if they file these files, then all of his rights come into play. As long as these cases are unrecorded, we cannot urge a speedy trial.”

    Gilmore said Brad Simpson is currently being held in administrative confinement and is confined to his cell at least 23 hours a day. He said Simpson would plead not guilty to the charges against him.

    “This is all kind of a shock to him and his family,” Gilmore said.

    The police searched for Suzanne Simpson at garbage dumps and other places

    Authorities checked several locations, including a local pool and an area landfill, to no avail.

    Simpson’s sudden disappearance was “very unusual,” Villegas said at the news conference.

    “Suzanne was known and is known as a very loving and trustworthy person, especially with her children and her work. She was not at work and did not contact her children,” Villegas said.

    Simpson, whose children range in age from 5 to 20, worked as a real estate agent Nix Realty Company and was “very involved in (her) children’s school and sports activities,” according to an online biography accessed by the Statesman.

    Simpson’s children and her family still have hope that she will be found, Clark WOAI-TV said about her sister.

    “One of the reasons this is so crucial is that when a mother disappears, she doesn’t just disappear by accident,” Clark said. “Children need their mothers the most and that’s the reason we were able to get so many people involved in this situation is because Suzanne was a loving mother, she was an incredible person and she had the sweetest disposition.”

    The public was also urged to contact the Olmos Park Police Department at 210-822-2000 with any relevant information.

    Online Niel
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like