Texas Realtor Suzanne Simpson vanished over four months ago, and her husband, Brad Simpson, who is charged with the mother of four’s murder, returned to court this week as his defense looks for holes in the evidence.
During a hearing Wednesday in a San Antonio courtroom, prosecutors said they were expecting to have five to six terabytes of evidence coming from the Texas Rangers, and defense attorneys said they still needed about one terabyte of evidence to go through before they could move forward with a motion to quash the indictment, KSAT reported.
Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson Deon Cockrell confirmed with Fox News Digital that authorities are still working to find Suzanne’s remains. Law enforcement in November said there are no signs of her being alive, according to an affidavit.
“They won’t stop looking,” Cockrell said. “We still want to find her, just as much as her family does.”
SUZANNE SIMPSON’S DNA FOUND ON MURDER SUSPECT HUSBAND’S SAW THAT CAN CUT METAL
Suzanne, 51, went missing Oct. 6 after allegedly fighting with her husband of 22 years in front of their house in Olmos Park in the San Antonio area. Authorities believe Brad “intentionally and knowingly caused the death” of Suzanne “on or about Sunday, Oct. 6,” records show.
The 54-year-old suspect remains in the Bexar County Jail with a bond set at a combined $3 million.
He was indicted on two first-degree felony charges, murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon causing serious bodily injury to a family member. The charges carry a maximum punishment of life in prison. He was also indicted on charges of tampering with a corpse, two additional counts of tampering with physical evidence and possession of a prohibited weapon.
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“It’s not unprecedented that a murder case is prosecuted without a body found. … It is rare,” Texas criminal defense attorney Sam Bassett, who is not involved in the case, told Fox News Digital. “There could be a plea negotiation.
“His lawyer could make a deal for him to give full disclosure and plead to 40 years instead of life, because, in Texas, life means 60 years. Anything less than 60 years is better than the likely life sentence he might receive if he goes to trial.
“The best way they’re going to find her body is if he ultimately decides to tell them,” he added, explaining how plea deals in cases like Simpson’s may lead to a confession about the victim’s remains.
Bassett said to pursue the death penalty in the state, a capital murder charge, the most serious homicide charge, typically would need to be filed. A second-degree murder charge in Texas is referred to as “murder,” which Simpson faces.
“The death penalty is probably not going to be in play if they’ve only charged ‘murder’ at this point,” Bassett explained. “But, at the same time, obviously, a murder conviction carries a life sentence, so the stakes are high.”
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A neighbor reportedly saw Simpson assault his wife the night of her disappearance and later heard screams coming from the woods nearby. And the couple’s 5-year-old child told a school counselor that, on the evening of Oct. 6, her father allegedly “pushed her mother against the wall, hit (physically) her mother on the face and hurt her mother’s elbow inside their residence” and also “turned off her mother’s phone because they were fighting,” according to an affidavit.
Investigators tracked Simpson’s unusual behavior in the days after his wife vanished, including shutting down his phone, driving with suspicious items in the bed of his truck, going to a dump site and cleaning his truck at a car wash.
Authorities informed family members that Suzanne’s DNA had been identified on a “reciprocating saw” that Simpson concealed days after his wife’s disappearance, according to indictment documents and KABB.
Simpson’s team still has to go through evidence from the Texas Rangers as the defense prepares to try to quash the indictment.
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“The Texas Rangers are … very thorough in their investigations,” Bassett said.
“I would guess the investigators are still hoping to find the body … but you have to be preparing for trial if you’re a prosecutor, as if you’re not going to have a body.”
After Simpson’s indictment, friends and family of Suzanne gathered at a memorial Dec. 20 to honor her life.
The private ceremony was held at First Presbyterian Church in downtown San Antonio with hundreds in attendance.
Brad Simpson’s next court appearance is scheduled for March 12. Simpson’s attorney did not immediately respond for comment.
The Bexar County District Attorney’s Office said it does not comment on pending cases.
