Texas Wine and True Crime
We review Texas wines and discuss Texas true crime.
Texas Wine and True Crime
Nobody Called: The Fatal Consequences of a Community's Silence
Have you ever wondered what happens when a community's silence becomes deadly? When the screams of a woman in danger go unreported? The chilling disappearance of Suzanne Simpson, a successful luxury realtor and mother of four from the affluent Olmos Park neighborhood of San Antonio, forces us to confront these uncomfortable questions.
Suzanne vanished on October 6, 2024, after attending a party at the Argyle Club. What followed was a husband who waited until 10 PM the next day to report her missing, neighbors who witnessed physical violence but never called police, and a kindergartner who told her teachers what she saw that night. The investigation revealed a disturbing pattern of domestic abuse in a marriage that had spanned over two decades.
We follow the evidence trail that led investigators to charge Brad Simpson with murder, despite never finding Suzanne's body. From surveillance footage tracking his movements to multiple dumping sites, the purchase of cement and trash bags, her DNA found on a reciprocating saw, and his attempts to hide evidence by burning electronics and asking a friend to conceal a gun—the circumstantial case built against him is compelling and disturbing.
Most heartbreaking is the revelation from Suzanne's mother that she had been developing a plan to help her daughter escape, a plan she never had the chance to share. Suzanne's oldest daughter has since publicly stated she believes her father killed her mother because she wanted to leave him, highlighting the deadly risk many domestic violence victims face when attempting to escape their abusers.
This episode serves as a stark reminder of our collective responsibility. When we witness violence and choose silence, we become complicit. As Suzanne's case moves toward trial, we're left to wonder: could her life have been saved with just one phone call? Join us as we examine this tragic case and honor Suzanne's memory by spreading awareness about domestic violence and the critical importance of intervention.
What would you do if you heard screams in the night? After listening to Suzanne's story, we hope you'll never hesitate to act.
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Welcome all of you wine and true crime lovers. I'm Brandi.
Speaker 2:And I'm Chris.
Speaker 1:And this is Texas Wine and True Crime. Thank you for being here, friends, for this week's episode. Justice for Suzanne Simpson. Hey, chris.
Speaker 2:Hey Brandi.
Speaker 1:So this week we are discussing the disappearance and presumed murder of Suzanne Simpson, a 51-year-old luxury home realtor and mother of four from Olmos Park, texas. Have you ever heard of Olmos Park?
Speaker 2:No, when I saw this name too, I wasn't quite sure. I mean, I know it's in San Antonio, I've never, ever heard of this area, so I'm assuming this is kind of a nice little affluent suburb or something like that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it's described as it is a suburb of San Antonio. So I, when I looked at the map it it looks like it's just about 15, 10, 15 minutes from downtown San Antonio. So it is in bear County. Population about 2,200 people is what I found so small. And but you're right about the affluent, um, I would describe it also as like old money part of San Antonio. There are, you know, different groups of for the women, different groups of the men, of more affluent, of the more affluent community that they do fundraisers, the more affluent community that they do fundraisers, they all lunch together, they all party together this, this area, and in fact some friends of this couple will say that you know there was all, there was always a party in Olmos Park.
Speaker 1:People were very they're very involved in their community. They're very involved in one another and I don't know if that's sometimes a good thing or a bad thing as we start to go through this story, but Suzanne was last seen the evening of October 6, 2024, leaving the Argyle Club, which is a private club in the area, after attending a party. Like a country club I would say um, not a country club but I was yes, thank you.
Speaker 1:Like a private social club, um. So they're attending a party. I believe it is someone's 50th birthday party, um, now she attends this party. Her husband is there and her youngest daughter is there, but her husband is seen there and at this party about an hour to an hour and a half before she actually arrives with her child. So her husband. So she's last seen right October the 6th. We know she attended this, this party. Her husband reports her missing, but not until 10 PM them the following day, october 7th. The couple has been together for over 20 years. They share four kids. Their friends say they met in college at UT. They describe both of them as being, I would say, somewhat semi-compatible. I think maybe earlier on in their relationship they seemed a lot more compatible which happens.
Speaker 2:What does that mean?
Speaker 1:Because I think they had lots of differences when I was looking at some of the interviews that have been done with their friends, you know, because this has been an ongoing thing since she went missing in October but you could tell that they were together but maybe lived a little bit of separate lives. For instance, they friends described him as like an okay dad, but they described her as like a very involved mother. They would see her at parties, kids events, but they wouldn't necessarily see him. They would also say that she was by herself a lot at kid functions or maybe other places that you would typically take your spouse, other places that you would typically take your spouse. Now he did take his kids, you know, hunting, fishing. So I would say he was described probably as a better dad than he was a husband.
Speaker 2:They they just described him as not being a very good husband.
Speaker 1:I got you, chris. Her husband has since been arrested for her disappearance and presumed murder. Been arrested for her disappearance and presumed murder. He has not cooperated with police during these last seven months. They have presumed that Suzanne is deceased based on what we're about to talk about, and they're just awaiting trial and everything too.
Speaker 1:That's right. I mean, this is a. I would say this is a very highly circumstantial case because we don't have a body right now. They are still looking for Suzanne, but they've also put this together so well that I'm not sure if we're ever going to. You know, for the family's sake they want to find her, but I'm hoping that when it comes to him being in the court of law, there is enough here to say that he was responsible for the loss of life, for the loss of her life. Based on eyewitness and neighbor accounts, we know something just did not go right that night of the party at the Simpson home after they returned from the get-together. So the first thing is that they went to the party at the Simpson home after they returned from the get together. So the first thing is that they went to the party separately.
Speaker 1:People see yes, this is not, but. But friends did say that either she would be by herself or he would be by herself. And you know, I think back like my dad never wanted to stay at big events with lots of people more than an hour or so, right. So I do remember him and my mom sometimes meeting there and taking two separate vehicles. Now, this is before Uber, right, this is before. You could just leave and catch a ride if you're ready to go, and I and I my parents are not the only people that I know that do this.
Speaker 2:I would have liked to see your dad take an Uber.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:So like I guess too, he set this precedent that I can potentially start going in a separate car too now, or Are you you asking or are you referencing the case?
Speaker 1:Because the answer is no. But okay, but here's what we have. We have the two showing up separately. Now she brings the child, who was five years old at the time, kindergartner, and we know she returns home that night because the child is there the next morning and the dad takes her to school. So, based on what eyewitnesses and neighbor accounts say is one they show up to this party separately. Um, there was, um, there was some over. Somebody overheard them, I would say at the party.
Speaker 1:Um, bickering bickering a little bit. Uh, one person referenced that they were. They were kind of keeping an eye on the daughter who was playing with other children. Um, while they were kind of, you know um being passionate about their words to one another, so you have, you have eyewitness to this um, people know that he actually left the party before she did, because she ends up with going home with the child. So she arrives with the child, leaves with the child. Now we know she arrives at the house, like I said, because the child is there the next day around 930 pm.
Speaker 1:Now this is according to one of their friends. He calls, or, excuse me, suzanne calls their home. He picks up the phone. She asks to talk to the wife. The wife gets on the phone and basically she wanted to come over and stay. So he even tells police he was in his pajamas when she made this call and that he actually got up and got dressed in regular clothes. But she never showed up. The other call goes to um, her mother, around the same time, maybe a little bit later, and she actually talks to her mom and tells her that she has been hit by him with a closed fist. Now she's talking to her mother about what I was going to say what time is this?
Speaker 1:So I believe this is about around 10 o'clock I don't have the exact time because this is an open investigation so I don't have the reports but it says somewhere between 10 and 1030. She. She made the phone call to her mother, um, you know cell phone evidence which, by the way, um probably still exists, even though we know he had a burn pile of electronics that police ended up finding by the, by the house, and same with computers. So there was some evidence of him trying to destroy evidence. But the thing that is key here is that we know she's home around this time, because not only does she make these phone calls and we don't I don't know exactly if she was at home when she made that first phone call to the friend, but we do know that that was verified and that she just never showed up. So she calls her mom and talks to her about this.
Speaker 1:I read recently that her mother had a plan that unfortunately she was never able to share with her daughter and that plan was to come and live with her. And you know that the kids are, you know, because you know the oldest child's like 20 right now, you know at this time. So you have a couple of them that are that are more teenage you know level and but then you have a little one who is still in grade school, and so the mother had shared in an interview that you know she had a plan with her daughter or for her daughter, and unfortunately she just was not able to share that.
Speaker 2:Just to get out of that situation.
Speaker 1:Just to get out of the situation. And after that phone call, something happens. What we do know is a neighbor multiple neighbors, I believe, because you just don't have this kind of commotion going on without people knowing about it. A neighbor heard them arguing outside sometime between like 10 and 11 o'clock. The arguing becomes more aggressive, it becomes louder and this becomes a physical altercation. Okay, this is an eyewitness to the physical altercation. Now, is he punching her?
Speaker 2:I don't believe so, but it was nobody called the police at this point, oh I'm not even there yet, but I'm going there because I know our neighbor across the street. You know she'll call it the slightest oh my gosh, I'm just surprised that somebody, especially when you know they hear the screams and see you're pulling her down and stuff like that. Well, you know this.
Speaker 1:this is why it goes to small community is great, but then I feel like people think of small community and like we want to keep the peace. We don't get involved. When it's not us Right, we leave people. Because I don't believe that this is the first. This is definitely not the first time he's done this. I think this has been witnessed before.
Speaker 1:But before we jump into that, let's go through. Let's go through what the witness actually heard and saw. So they, they see the fighting, this, this, this I believe it's a gentleman. Here's what sounds like screaming, coming from like right outside of his bedroom. Um, he, this neighbor, makes the statement eventually that they witnessed Brad trying to pull her and restrain her. He described it as like preventing her from leaving. And then you hear screams from what they believe was Suzanne, what they believe was Suzanne. And then, about an hour after the altercation, that same neighbor sees Brad get into his pickup truck, leave the residence, return about an hour or two later, however, there is no sign of Suzanne after those screams were heard, feeling stuck, brain fog, slowing you down, introducing my friend Magic Mind, the natural productivity shot designed to help you crush procrastination, boost focus and elevate your energy that I have been taking consistently and feeling for four months.
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Speaker 2:Yeah, that's just baffling. I mean like being a smaller community, you expect that you look out for one another.
Speaker 2:You have a little bit more, like you mentioned. They have block parties and events and stuff like that. So you almost think I mean, maybe if you didn't know all your neighbors and you heard something going on outside, you might not be apt to go out there and intervene per se, but you might at least call the police, where it sounds like a lot of these people kind of knew one another, where you almost think that somebody might have come out to you. Know, try to quell the situation.
Speaker 1:I would think you know, try to quell the situation.
Speaker 2:I would think, but well, I do know, that's not the case, but I mean, I just think that's, like I said, given their small community it sounds like they do a lot together and therefore do often look out for one another that how this would have been the lapse that they did not choose to do that.
Speaker 1:So the neighbor will tell police that he went to go look for a flashlight, and I think that was because maybe he could hear more than he could see. But he also gave the statement of Brad Simpson trying to restrain his wife from leaving, and so he saw what happened.
Speaker 1:So he saw it and you know this. But this is should not be acceptable. I think you know you might be right Smaller community, take care of each other. But then again I think of these even bigger little towns, right, I mean, we see we've covered cases. You know, highland Park is a great example of this. You have such a small community. Highland Park is a great example of this. You have such a small community.
Speaker 1:You had a woman who was probably responsible for not only having multiple affairs with multiple married women in this small area, but then you had her responsible for multiple murders and the woman continued to live in Highland Park even after being accused of those things and people just weren't talking about it. And this, to me, is when people don't want to get involved and we have an obligation and duty to our community. I mean, this just happened seven months ago, this is not 1985. I mean we have a duty to report these things. You know, we know now. We know now that domestic violence was no stranger in this relationship. Sometimes it was witnessed by the children. In fact, the kindergartner Chris goes to school the day after her mother goes missing and basically tells her teachers that the child saw her father strike. Her mother mentioned something about pushing her up against the wall. But family members, neighbors I can't believe that this wasn't witnessed by people over these years.
Speaker 2:Well, I mean the fact that a kid went to school and said something the school didn't even investigate. It's a little odd, given this only happened, you know, months. Well, here's the thing.
Speaker 1:I think they were maybe waiting to have this conversation when the parent came to pick them up. But what we know is the dad dropped the child off that morning and the dad picked the child up, but he didn't go and pick her up just to go get the kiddo. He had to get a phone call that the mother had not arrived and it was a setup. He was waiting for that phone call because he was not the one to drop them off and pick them up from school. So he, sort of like, was setting this up. But you know what? She was a badass mom. She was a star luxury home realtor in the San Antonio area. She wanted to leave this piece of shit. Their oldest daughter has come out and talked about this and I'm going to mention this at the end of this but she most likely lost her life for that very reason. She wanted to leave. And you know, gosh, you're with someone for well over 20 years. You have four kids. You think he's someone. He's not. And how long of this did she and how much of this did she endure? And who knew? And why didn't they call the police? I mean, it is just mind boggling. She could be here today if that phone call would have been made.
Speaker 1:And Chris, we know it just wasn't one witness that heard these screams, it was multiple people that could say they could hear it from the house. And then eventually it moves into the back of the woods where their home, backed up into and you don't call the authorities. And he was huge, she's like a petite woman, she had no chance. He's physically putting his hands on her. That neighbor should have called police immediately. So you know, I'm not past this old, like good old boy system and letting men witness things like this and letting their men handle it Like it's got to stop. It's got to stop. And you know, in intuition and instinct, the first thing to do is to make a phone call, no matter how good of friends you are. Remember this is a neighbor, this is their neighborhood. People want to stay out of people's business and this, for some reason, has become the norm.
Speaker 2:I don't know. I think everybody's in everybody's business.
Speaker 1:Yeah, until they're like put on the spot, until they have to report something, they're okay Gossiping behind the scenes, but when it comes in front of their face, they're not willing to stand up and do anything. And that's my problem with this. It's like we. They can talk about it and probably this community knew something strange was happening in this relationship, but you know it was witnessed at the party. They were not afraid to get in confrontation in front of people. So you know, do better next time. That's all I can say, because I think the trajectory of this would have been completely different. So Brad Simpson puts his phone in lockdown mode, chris, after her last known phone call, which they believe was with her mother that night, and no data. So that means that doesn't mean just airplane mode. That means like track lockdown no data being transmitted to the cloud, not to the towers.
Speaker 2:So they just turned it off.
Speaker 1:Well, tracking? Well, I mean yes, but I think even if you turn your phone off, there is some way I don't know lockdown mode to make it look like you purposely put your phone in a state that it couldn't be tracked. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:Like just leave it at home. I don't know. But he probably had his reasons. I'm not familiar with lockdown mode though.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, somebody compared it to like airplane mode, and then the person who was giving the statement for the upcoming trial because there will be an upcoming trial for this compared it to completely putting it locked down.
Speaker 2:So we're no data is being transmitted at all, but yeah, I don't know, I know, like some phones, you know, like I know the movies, movies, they remove the battery from the phone, so they can't be tracked, but I guess our new modern phones that's impossible to do, Right.
Speaker 1:So thankfully, chris, there's video surveillance. Even though he puts us in lockdown mode, this video surveillance will show a story, if you will, of what Brad Simpson was up to after his abuse and his wife's screams were heard by neighbors. So about 1233 AM he is seen on video in the parking lot of HEB. What is seen in the back of his truck is an ice chest. Okay, so again, this is video surveillance. The next morning he takes his daughter to school In the back of his truck. In that video surveillance two full trash bags are seen in the back school in the back of his truck. In that video surveillance, two full trash bags are seen in the back in the bed of the truck at nine 15. He makes a stop at Waterburger. A blue tarp is actually seen in the back of that truck for video on video surveillance A nine 53. He goes to home Depot. He buys buckets, cement and more trash bags. About 10 o'clock All this is on video.
Speaker 1:This is all video surveillance.
Speaker 2:They have no phone capability whatsoever, so they just picked up all the video from all these places and were able to pinpoint his truck, I guess, being a small community Maybe it's easier to do that.
Speaker 1:It is. And one thing they knew is that he had taken his daughter to school because she got there somehow. So I think they started that.
Speaker 2:I wonder if any credit card payments or anything like that, were utilized as well.
Speaker 1:I'm sure they did everything they could to really pinpoint, because this is what they're going to have to present in his trial, because there's no phone tracking evidence from his phone. So 9-15, he goes to Waterburger. 9.53, he's seen at the Home Depot making these purchases. He then asks for directions to the nearest dump site. So at 10 o'clock, between 10 and 10.15, video surveillance picks him up at the Kendall County solid waste dumping plant. At 1115, he is tracked on a road at a gas station. They see him messing with some things in the back of his vehicle. But he is there getting gas and doing whatever he's doing or has already done or has already done. At 141, he's then tracked Northwest, still in Kendall County. He's tracked just Northwest of the solid waste plant. He was just at. So later in the afternoon a few hours later he's just a little bit Northwest in that same County. I don't have any information of exactly what he was doing, but he could have just been disposing of things.
Speaker 1:3, 27 PM A daughter does not get picked up from school. Um, or I believe it's three, 30. Maybe the phone call comes in. He then goes and picks the child up from school, from school, and at about 4, 15. He is then seen at a car wash um. And then chris. He finally reports her missing at 10 o'clock that night, a month after she is um.
Speaker 2:I mean her car and everything was still at the house too, right. I mean all, mean all of her stuff. I mean I don't know exactly what they found in the home, just wondering, like for him to call that late when they were going to investigate, like her personal effects and vehicle and whatnot.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, I think all of that was there and I don't think he would have taken a lot of personal things out of the home. I think that he probably would have got a lot more attention by doing that and this guy's kind of crafty. And when I tell you this, when we share this information, you know her DNA is actually found, chris, on her husband's handheld reciprocating saw. Um, now, I didn't know exactly what that was.
Speaker 1:so I looked it up like a sawzall yeah, so apparently it goes backwards and forward and it's used most saws do no, no, no, but I I think it actually like.
Speaker 1:But it's used into in the cutting industry to cut apart cattle and they, because it can cut through bone and tissue. It's not a clean cut, but her DNA is found on this saw and he is a hunter and they believe that he had used this saw before to cut animal. You know. But here's the thing with this saw when he was arrested he had he was charged with murdering his wife, tampering with with evidence, and the saw is actually found in his toolbox. But in the police, in the report and in the court documents they're saying that he tried to hide the saw. So the accusations have been made against him that he was tampering with evidence. He tried to hide the saw by hiding the toolbox and then, once they found that toolbox by hiding the toolbox and then, once they found that toolbox, they ended up finding the salt. I think they're going to have a lot more evidence on this DNA when it comes to trial.
Speaker 2:I wonder why he would have hung on to that. You know, I mean clearly if he was cutting something or somebody with that, that that would be a lot of.
Speaker 1:Or maybe he just thought he was slick and cleaned it well enough and put it back and you know what? And he used it on animals and that maybe he used it so much he never thought they would be able to find. You know her dating.
Speaker 2:Who knows?
Speaker 1:we're dealing with like a, you know, a sociopathic individual who probably was doing things rashly but then probably had some time to actually do some things, which was probably get rid of her. So she can't be found. Um, but if this is what we believe happened, you know that, if, if it that this is you know, tissue DNA, bone DNA you know, I think they're going to have a lot more of this in the trial when they're actually trying to convict him and prosecute him for her death. Now, chris, he asked his friend and business partner to hide a gun for him early on in this. He His friend did it. He hit a gun in a false wall. The gun is unfound because police are all over him and all over people he's involved with and the gun is found in friend. The friend tells police that Brad Simpson asked him to hide the gun.
Speaker 2:So then, you have.
Speaker 1:Who came forward? The friend.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he got in, so he worked with police.
Speaker 1:That's right. So he came in. He told them that he no, but he was going to be charged with it. He was. I mean, there there is an indictment on the friend. I mean, he's got his own battle with this.
Speaker 2:Well, I mean honestly. That probably leads to explain why nobody called the police. You've got a friend that's hiding a gun for you. Who knows, maybe the people in the neighborhood are covering for another two and that's why they didn't call Exactly. Somebody lives around there that's hiding a gun for you.
Speaker 1:Well, you know, I guess beating the crap out of a woman in the front yard just isn't enough nowadays but the gun is found. Tells Brad Simpson, you know, or tells the police that Brad Simpson asked him to hide the gun, concealing the cell phones. You know they're trying to get a pattern of behavior of this when they go to trial because again, right now we don't have her body but you have him trying to conceal, you know, conceal cell phones accused of burning electronics at a bin near the home, electronics at a bin near the home. You know you have multiple pieces of evidence and I mean, chris, for them to come with an indictment of murder and you have no body. I mean they had this very, very, very, very early on and just last week I mean this happened, excuse me, not last week, the end of April he went in front of the judge again.
Speaker 1:And the reason he went in front of the judge again is because his defense team tried to withdraw parts of their motion to this murder indictment to basically get some of the charges dismissed. And the reason for that is, they said, basically the prosecution was being too vague about if you allege, an act actually happened and because of that act, it became dangerous to human life. They have to show what that act is. And so they basically said the prosecution team did not give enough evidence to the court and to the defense in order to say that their client is now on trial because of his actions. There was clear and present danger to human life, which was Suzanne's life. The judge says you know what? I think there's plenty of here so he threw that out. So at the end of April that was not dismissed. He is still in prison awaiting to stand trial for this murder. But, chris, he has not cooperated. When I say hasn't cooperated like he hasn't said a thing, he won't tell them anything. He won't.
Speaker 1:I mean that that is the words they have used that's his he has been uncooperative since the beginning somebody's supposed to do not talk to the police, especially if they're guilty so they don't have the benefit of a body, but that doesn't mean they can't file this case, and that is exactly what they did. There hasn't been an official trial date set yet but, like I said, we just got out of this hearing at the end of April, so they will be moving forward with those charges.
Speaker 2:And he's going to try in which county? I guess close to San Antonio.
Speaker 1:He's going to try, in which?
Speaker 2:county, I guess close to San Antonio.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the Simpsons' oldest daughter has come out since her mother's disappearance and presumed murder and has shared that she knows her own father took her mother's life. She knows her mother was a victim of her father's violence and that she wanted to leave Brad Simpson and because of that she was killed. Imagine the instances where this abuse had been witnessed, and would that have changed the series of events, the trajectory of the outcome of what happened to Suzanne? And in my opinion, no doubt. Yes, we have an obligation as a community to report violence. Suzanne was petite. Like I said earlier, he would have easily been overpowering her. It is not acceptable to witness these types of behaviors and not make a phone call and do anything about it. If you see something, say something. You might just save a life. Thank you,