Husband of missing San Antonio woman is charged with murder

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The brother of a Texas businessman who is charged with killing his missing wife called for his brother to cooperate with law enforcement and direct them to the woman’s body Friday.

Brad Simpson, 53, was charged Thursday in Bexar County with the murder of Suzanne Simpson, 51, who has not been seen since Oct. 6.

“It is our sincere hope that Brad will find the compassion and courage to end his family suffering by cooperating with the authorities to help us find his wife,” Barton Simpson said during a brief news conference in the San Antonio suburb of Olmos Park.

“The situation is heartbreaking for us, but it brings some peace to our family knowing that the authorities have gathered enough evidence to move forward with charges,” Barton Simpson said.

“This helps us to come to terms with the reality that Suzanne is no longer with us,” Barton Simpson said.

Neither Olmos Park Police Chief Fidel Villegas nor Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Deon Cockrell discussed the evidence.

It was “enough information for the (district attorney) to take” the case and file charges, Cockrell said.

The arrest warrant for Brad Simpson was placed under seal by the judge in the case.

Brad Simpson is jailed on a total of $5 million in bonds on charges of murder, unlawful restraint, assault, tampering with evidence and possession of a prohibited weapon.

An attorney for Simpson, who was first arrested Oct. 9 on the unlawful restraint and assault charges, did not return a phone call Friday for comment.

Villegas, the Olmos Park police chief, said the search for Suzanne Simpson, which has included a wooded area around the couple’s home, a landfill and an area near where Brad Simpson was arrested along Interstate 10, continues.

The murder charge comes just more than a month after Suzanne Simpson, a real estate agent, was last seen alive outside the couple’s home in Olmos Park, where police have said a neighbor reported seeing the couple fighting.

“We hope that (charges) will allow (Simpson’s family) to enter the next phase of the grieving process,” Villegas said during the news conference. “We want them to know that the search for Suzanne is still ongoing.”