SAN ANTONIO — A burn site where cell phones were found destroyed, a request for directions to the nearest dump site, blood stains found on a truck—those are some of the details authorities reported uncovering in their investigation into Suzanne Simpson's disappearance before filing a murder charge against her husband, Brad, last week.
Among the most striking findings outlined in the nine-page affidavit, filled out by an Olmos Park Police lieutenant, is a recent conversation between Suzanne and her personal banker in which the realtor and mother "advised her that if she went missing to look for her in a lake." That exchange happened "around August of 2024," the document says, just weeks before she disappeared from her Olmos Park home on Oct. 6.
No evidence has been found indicating that Suzanne, 51, is still alive, the affidavit says, reiterating what law enforcement have said over five-plus weeks. But Olmos Park Police Department Lt. Hector Ruiz said the investigation uncovered "probable cause" that Brad Simpson "intentionally and knowingly" caused her death.
Where did Brad Simpson go?
Among the things investigators uncovered was Brad's whereabouts the day after he allegedly assaulted his wife.
According to the arrest warrant, authorities reviewed several surveillance videos showing what was in the back of his truck on Oct. 7. One of those videos, the affidavit says, shows him at a Whataburger in Boerne around 9:12 a.m. that day with trash bags, a heavy-duty trash can, ice chest and a "large bulky item wrapped and secured in a blue tarp" that was held down by a firewood rack.
Authorities say Brad Simpson, 53, then went to a Home Depot to purchase cement with cash, as well as Clorox disinfectant spray and insect repellant. While in the store's parking lot, investigators say, Brad asked someone where the closest dump was. The affidavit adds that Brad "intentionally shuts off his cellular service" at this point, and put his phone into "Lock Down mode."
The affidavit says vehicle data gathered by investigators show him near a waste site in Kendall County before he was spotted by surveillance cameras at a car wash back in San Antonio, where he was seen "washing and cleaning the driver front side and the rear-left passenger side." "Dried cement splashes" were seen in the truck bed, and when Texas Rangers searched the truck on Oct. 10, they found blood stains that belonged to Brad.
Brad reported his wife missing the night of Oct. 7, which authorities have said. But the affidavit alleges he only did so after Suzanne's friend called police first. The warrant states Brad told investigators he had last seen his wife the night of Oct. 6. However, it also states that in a phone call with the Olmos Park Police chief on Oct. 8, Brad contradicted himself, stating he last saw his wife the morning of Oct. 7, asleep in a different room.
Brad Simpson was taken into custody on Oct. 9 on charges of family violence and unlawful restraint after a neighbor told investigators he saw the couple arguing the evening Suzanne went missing. That neighbor later reported hearing screams from a wooded area in the neighborhood.
"The defendant did not appear surprised at the time of his arrest, nor did the defendant question why he was being arrested," the affidavit says.
Those charges were dismissed Tuesday, according to online court records.
The same day he was first arrested, investigators also searched through the family's Bandera property and found a burn pit with a laptop and three cell phones, all belonging to Brad.
The affidavit also claims Brad wrote two notes in his phone in which he apologized for assaulting his wife in August of 2023 and again on the night of her disappearance. It also revealed Suzanne had confided in her personal banker, telling her Brad would physically assault her and take her cell phone away before warning her to search in a lake if she ever went missing.
Last week, investigators said they were searching the Bandera area for Suzanne's body.
Brad remains in the Bexar County jail with bonds totaling $3 million and a federal hold by the ATF for a weapons charge. Meanwhile, a bond hearing scheduled for Wednesday has been delayed to Dec. 19.