On Sunday, Oct. 6, Suzanne Clark Simpson, mother of four and realtor, attended a party at a private dinner club with her husband Brad Simpson. The party was held at The Argyle on Patterson Avenue in Alamo Heights, and the couple was reported by Police Chief Fidel Villegas to be fighting at the event.
The two returned home between 10 p.m. to 11 p.m., when a neighbor heard them arguing right outside his bedroom window. The arguing became more aggressive and louder, and they soon got into a physical altercation. It appeared as though Brad was preventing Suzanne from getting away. The neighbor reported that Brad tried to pull her down and restrain her, and soon, screams were heard from Suzanne.
An hour after the altercation, the same neighbor saw Brad get into his black GMC pickup truck and leave his residence; he returned one to two hours later. However, there were no signs of Suzanne since the screams were heard. The next day, activity from Suzanne’s phone was recorded around 7:15 a.m. It showed her location in a business parking lot in Olmos Park.
Around 3 p.m. on Oct. 7, their child’s school notified Brad that Suzanne had yet to pick up their child. It was not until 10 p.m. that Brad had reported his wife missing. On the following day, Tuesday, Oct. 8, Brad began to exhibit strange behavior. He sent an obscure message to his brother and was uncooperative with the police. A full investigation on the relationship between the couple began to determine what exactly happened to Suzanne.
Around 4:30 p.m., the police interviewed the school staff, whom the child told that her parents were fighting and that her dad assaulted her mom and took her phone away. It was also noted Suzanne had physical signs of abuse on her as a serious bruise was seen on her elbow.
On Nov. 5, the 20-year-old daughter of Suzanne went to Instagram; she posted various stories about the domestic violence that her mother went through from her father and her disappearance. In one of her stories, she claimed that her father “took my mother’s life in a state of rage and control.” She continued to post about the silence of domestic abuse that many women who live in Alamo Heights see and endure and encouraged many to finally speak up about it.
She continues to urge the women within her community and various others to which they can relate to, to speak up about domestic abuse they have experienced. Suzanne’s daughter wants to ensure the protection of women and raise awareness of similar cases to prevent another incident like her mother’s from occurring.
Since Thursday, Nov. 7, Brad had been charged with the murder of his wife due to overwhelming evidence proving him guilty. He was given a bond for her murder at $2 million along with additional charges that brought his total bond to $5 million.
Suzanne has yet to be found, but police believe that she remains somewhere in the Bandera area, the same location where Brad had left on the night of her murder. The search will continue to give some piece of mind to her children, friends and family members.
