SAN ANTONIO — As legal system proceedings ramp up against Brad Simpson – the 53-year-old Bexar County man accused of killing his wife, Suzanne, and trying to hide the evidence – a gag order has been issued preventing those involved in the case, including attorneys and law enforcement personnel, from sharing information with media and other outside parties.
Judge Joel Perez, who oversees the 437th Criminal District Court, signed the gag order into effect Tuesday. He cited extensive news coverage of the Simpson case, saying the order was an effort to prevent "non-publicly disclosed information" and "the kind of pretrial publicity that would interfere with the defendant's right to a fair trial by an impartial jury."
A trial date hasn't been set for Brad Simpson, who has been behind bars for two months and was indicted on murder and other charges last week. He's expected to be in court next on Dec. 19 for a hearing to potentially modify or amend his bond conditions.
Perez's order also noted "the unusually emotional nature" of the case and information "that is not presently subject to public disclosure, but which has nevertheless been published and broadcast by local and national media." It prevents legal teams, their staff members and law enforcement from speaking with news media, as well as witnesses who have already provided statements or those who do in the future.
Nico LaHood, a former Bexar County district attorney not involved with the case, couldn't recall the last time a gag order was issued in the county.
"It's extremely rare to do a gag order just in general, but especially in Bexar County," he said. "The reason why is you have some potential constitutional issues that need to be weighed through. But a judge's duty – one of the judge's duties – is to make sure a future jury is not tainted."
LaHood said the order could also help keep the case in Bexar County. adding it's important for the jury to hear evidence for the first time in court in order to avoid a mistrial—especially in such a high-profile case.
"That's what's going through most judges' minds, and Judge Perez is a very experience jurist. He was an experienced trial lawyer before that, so I'm pretty sure that's what's going through his mind."
Brad Simpson appeared in court Monday morning for the first time since his Dec. 4 indictment, which charged him with murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, tampering with a corpse, tamping with physical evidence and possession of a prohibited weapon following the Oct. 6. disappearance of his wife. She disappeared from their Olmos Park neighborhood, sparking wide-ranging searches for evidence and scraps of information.
“My hope is for my brother is that he wants grace and I’m talking spiritual grace and he’s not going to achieve that unless he’s honest, unless he confesses and tells us what he’s done," said Barton Simpson, the defendant's brother, after Monday's hearing. "Honestly, it just makes me sad."
He faces two to 99 years or life in prison if found guilty.
Where the case stands
Suzanne, 51, disappeared Oct. 6, but authorities say her husband didn't report her missing until the next day, after she didn't pick their youngest children up from school.
That quickly sparked a search and investigation that has involved the Texas Rangers and Department of Public Safety from its early stages. Brad Simpson was first arrested on Oct. 9, accused of unlawful restraint and assaulting Suzanne after a neighbor told law enforcement he saw them in a physical struggle outside their home the evening of Oct. 6.
That same neighbor reported hearing screams from a nearby wooded area, and reportedly told investigators he saw Brad leaving in his truck before returning one or two hours later.
Investigators have since pinpointed his movements from Oct. 7-8, saying in arrest records that he was seen in a restaurant drive-thru in Boerne with a large ice chest and a bulky item under a tarp in his truck bed. Later in the morning of Oct. 7, he visited a Home Depot where he bought cement, heavy-duty trash bags, Clorox disinfectant spray and bug spray.
Someone in the parking lot of the store that day told investigators Brad approached him and asked for directions to the nearest dump. A couple hours later, while picking up his daughter from school, the blue tarp was no longer in his vehicle.
Brad's longtime business associate, James Cotter, is accused of helping Brad hide a gun in his home as police zeroed in on him on Oct. 8.
Among the most striking findings outlined in the nine-page arrest 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.
The murder charge was filed against Brad on Nov. 7.
Investigators have yet to publicly say anything about Suzanne Simpson's remains and where they may be. But family members last week told KENS 5 they were notified by law enforcement about Suzanne's DNA being found on a saw.