30/10/2024
"Behind Closed Door in Olmos Park: The Dark Truth of Wealth, Secrets, and the Disappearance of Suzanne Simpson"
Walking along East Olmos Drive and admiring the beautiful million-dollar homes near the Olmos Basin Park, an upscale area in San Antonio, Texas, one gets a mental picture of the idyllic life that must exist for the families there. However, the reality of life behind the front door can be much darker.
From the outside, Suzanne Clark Simpson (51) had the perfect life. The mother of four children is a successful realtor in San Antonio, living in a $1.5 million, 3600 sq. ft., Olmos Park home with a pool and spa in the backyard. According to his LinkedIn profile, her husband, Brad Simpson (53), is the vice president of Capital Well Services LLC, a position he has held since 2012.
However, the picture emerging is of a couple facing significant financial and relationship pressures. When alcohol is introduced to those pressures, it's as if a match was introduced to a dried Christmas tree on January 15; the reaction can be explosive.
On Sunday, October 6, 2024, Brad and Suzanne Simpson attended a function at the Argyle Private Club in Alamo Heights. Witnesses say the couple argued at around 10 p.m., creating a disturbance. Suzanne left the Argyle Club to go to her mother's to pick up the couple's youngest and returned home. Brad Simpson left the Club a few minutes after Suzanne.
Suzanne got her daughter ready for bed, kissed her forehead, and shut the bedroom door. She checked in on the other children at home and then went downstairs to pour a glass of wine. As Suzanne entered the kitchen, Brad waited, still furious about the incident at the Club. A family member witnessed the couple arguing, and Brad struck Suzanne in the face before taking her cell phone.
In the early morning of October 7, 2024, the argument spilled out onto the front lawn, where a neighbor witnessed it turn physical. The neighbor said that Brad was trying to prevent Suzanne from leaving.
The couple lived near the Olmos Basin Park Trailhead and agreed to walk the trail to discuss their issues. A brief time later, the neighbor who had witnessed the argument in the driveway says he heard screaming coming from the woods.
Unfortunately, the neighbor chose not to become involved and did not call 9-1-1, as this was the last time Suzanne Simpson had been seen.
The neighbor says Brad Simpson's truck was seen leaving the residence about an hour after the screams were heard. It has been reported that Brad Simpson returned home a few hours later and drove his children to school.
Later that afternoon, the school called to tell Brad Simpson that the couple's 5-year-old daughter had not been picked up. After picking up the child, Brad Simpson reported Suzanne missing to the Olmos Police Department.
After talking with family members and Argyle Club employees about the couple's argument the previous evening, investigators focused their attention on Brad Simpson as a suspect in the disappearance of his wife, Suzanne Simpson.
Brad Simpson failed to attend a follow-up interview with police, and it was learned that he had “relocated” to his 3-acre "ranch" in Bandera, Texas.
On October 8, law enforcement arrested Brad Simpson for two misdemeanor counts of assault with injury-family violence and unlawful restraint based upon witness statements.
Brad Simpson's Checkered Business and Financial History
Evidence is starting to mount that Brad Simpson was involved in some questionable business dealings, and financial issues have begun to appear.
State records show that Bandina Falls LLC (a company managed by Brad Simpson) bought a residential property in Bandera from Simpson's mother, Tommie DeeAnn Simpson, in 2015. The 3-acre property on Highland Drive, near the Medina River, has an appraised value of $579,200 and includes a 2,600-square-foot building.
Public records disclose that the Notice of Tax Foreclosure for the Highland Drive property was scheduled for April 2, 2019, for $19,361. The tax delinquency was redeemed before the sale and showing current.
Brad Simpson worked from about 2002 to 2012 as a property manager for Cotter & Sons, a San Antonio, Texas-based company founded by James F. Cotter, a wealthy real estate tycoon who owned over 65 properties in six states, including the Alamo Towers and Petroleum Towers in San Antonio.
In 2010, Simpson was involved in a legal dispute with Cotter & Son regarding Simpson's ownership in Premier Facilities Solutions ("PFS"), a company that Simpson formed to provide janitorial services for Cotter & Son properties. Cotter & Sons claimed PFS was allegedly charging above-market rates for services. The company demanded that Simpson shutter PFS and contract with a cleaning company that charged reasonable market rates.
Civil Court records show that American Express had filed two lawsuits against Brad Simpson for failing to pay his business and personal credit card debts totaling at least $30,000. Brad Simpson settled with American Express before trial and resolved the debts.
According to County Property Records, the Olmos Park property has two mortgages with Atascosa Bank from 2022. The first mortgage has a principal amount of $686,393.71, and the home equity loan has an unknown balance. Yet, minimum monthly payments to Atascosa Bank are approximately $6500 per month, including real estate taxes, without considering any monthly payments on the home equity loan balance. Real estate taxes are currently about $26,000 per year.
The real estate market has slowed over the past 18 months for realtors and investors due to high valuations, rising mortgage interest rates, and increasing tax burdens. This could mean that Suzanne's income was depressed.
Financial pressures are a stressor in Simpson's relationship. However, we can only confirm specifics about what happened in the couple's relationship once more evidence is known about what happened to Suzanne Simpson. We may learn that the relationship had other stressors as well.
Brad Simpson's Former Business Partner Arrested
The police arrested Brad Simpson's former business associate, James Vallee Cotter, for tampering with evidence. According to charges, Brad Simpson asked James Cotter to hide his AK-47 rifle. Police located the AK-47 hidden between the walls of Cotter's home.
It is alleged that Brad Simpson texted Cotter on October 8, saying:
'If you are in Bandera, can you haul ass to meet me at your house?'
'I don't have much time.'
'Sorry for the urgency, but you're all I have, especially now...social media is destroying me.'
At this point, and until Suzanne Simpson is found, it is unknown whether the AK-47 rifle was involved in the presumed death of Suzanne Simpson.
The known facts related to the disappearance of Suzanne Simpson seem to suggest that if Suzanne Simpson were murdered, the probable cause would be strangulation or blunt force trauma.
Brad Simpson asking his former business and friend to hide his AK-47 does not mean it was the murder weapon. It's more likely that the gun was not appropriately registered or purchased illegally, and Simpson was fearful of the fi****ms being seized by law enforcement.
It is curious that Simpson had possession of the AK-47 but left an unlawfully registered short-barrel rifle in the residence. Law enforcement located the short-barrel gun on October 9 while executing a search warrant for the Simpson home.
James Vallee Cotter has been released from Bexar County Jail under a home confinement order, has surrendered his passport, and is not allowed to possess any fi****ms.
Law Enforcement believes Suzanne Simpson is deceased and is focusing on a landfill.
Law enforcement has made it clear to the public and family of Suzanne Simpson that, based on the evidence and information gathered, she is deceased. However, they have been unable to locate her body.
Law enforcement has searched a Southeast Bexar County landfill for over a week, wooded areas around Simpson's home, and the San Antonio River by the intersection of East Olmos Drive and East Contour Drive for evidence regarding the disappearance.
Brad Simpson remains in the Bexar County Jail under a federal detainer for felony possession of an unlawfully registered rifle.
Bail has been set at more than $2 million for the misdemeanor assault causing injury-family violence and unlawful restraint.
A hearing on a defense motion to allow Brad Simpson visitation with his children is scheduled for November 13, 2024, in Bexar County Criminal Court.
We should learn more about the circumstances of the disappearance and the evidence collected against Brad Simpson before the hearing.
It is expected that the Bexar County State's Attorney will upgrade charges against Brad Simpson to include murder if Suzanne Simpson's body is found.
The photo shown is courtesy of NIX Realty Company and the family of Suzanne Simpson.
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