Bradford Bishop


Photograph taken c. 1970-1975

FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive
Charges: Five counts of first-degree murder
Alias: Bradford Bishop, Brad Bishop, Bradford Bishop Jr.

Description
Born: William Bradford Bishop Jr.; August 1, 1936; Pasadena, California, U.S.

Status
Added: April 10, 2014
Removed: June 27, 2018
Number: 502
Removed from Top Ten Fugitive List

William Bradford Bishop Jr. (born August 1, 1936) is a former United States Foreign Service officer who has been a fugitive from justice since killing his wife, mother, and three sons in 1976. On April 10, 2014, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) placed him on the list of its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. On June 27, 2018, Bishop, who at the time would have been 81 years old, was removed from the list, making room, the FBI said, for another "dangerous fugitive". However, he is still being actively pursued by the FBI, and an INTERPOL Red Notice is still in effect.

Biography

William Bradford Bishop Jr. was born August 1, 1936, in Pasadena, California, to Lobelia Amaryllis St. Germain and William Bradford Bishop Sr. He attended South Pasadena High School and received a bachelor of science degree in history from Yale University and a master of arts degree in international studies from Middlebury College. Alternatively, Bishop has been reported to have a bachelor's degree in American Studies from Yale and a master's degree in Italian from Middlebury College. He also holds a master's degree in African Studies from UCLA.

After graduating from Yale in 1959, Bishop married his high school sweetheart Annette Weis, with whom he had three sons. He joined the United States Army and spent four years working in counterintelligence. Bishop spoke five languages fluently: English, Italian, French, Spanish and Serbo-Croatian. After leaving the Army, Bishop joined the U.S. State Department and served in the Foreign Service in many postings overseas. This included postings in the Italian cities of Verona, Milan, and Florence (where he did post-graduate work at the University of Florence) from 1968 to 1972. He also served in Africa, including posts in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and Gaborone in Botswana, from 1972 to 1974. Bishop's last posting, which began in 1974, was at State Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., as an assistant chief in the Division of Special Activities and Commercial Treaties. He was living in Bethesda, Maryland, with his wife and three sons as well as his mother, Lobelia.

Killings

Ballet dancer Jacques d'Amboise revealed in his 2011 autobiography that, as a teenager, he had lived with the Bishop family for a short time in South Pasadena, California. In February 1976, when d'Amboise was scheduled to perform at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Lobelia invited him and his wife Carrie to spend Sunday night, February 29, at the Bishops' home in Bethesda. D'Amboise cancelled his appearance at the last minute due to a knee injury, but failed to notify the family.

On March 1, 1976, after learning he would not receive the promotion he had sought, Bishop told his secretary that he was feeling unwell and left his office in Foggy Bottom. His last confirmed sighting was outside the State Department by colleague Roy A. Harrell Jr., who noted that Bishop was agitated. Police believe he drove to his bank, where he withdrew several hundred dollars, then to Montgomery Mall, where he bought a ball-peen hammer and gas can; he filled the gas can and the tank of his 1974 Chevrolet station wagon at an adjacent gas station. From there he drove to a hardware store, where he purchased a shovel and pitchfork.

Bishop returned to his home in Bethesda between 7:30 and 8:00 p.m. Police believe his wife was likely killed first, then his mother as she returned from walking the family dog. Finally, his three sons (aged 5, 10, and 14) were killed while they slept in an upstairs bedroom. Bishop allegedly drove the bodies 275 miles (443 km) in the station wagon to a densely wooded swamp about 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Columbia, North Carolina, where on March 2, he dug a shallow hole where he piled the bodies and set them ablaze with gasoline. Discovered along with the burned bodies was a gas can, a pitchfork, and a shovel that had a label of "OCH HDW", which was determined to be from Poch's Hardware.

Bishop is known to have purchased tennis shoes at a sporting goods store in Jacksonville, North Carolina, later that same day. According to witnesses, he had the family dog with him and was possibly accompanied by a woman described as "dark skinned".

On March 10, a neighbor of Bishop's contacted police after having not seen the family for some time. A detective found blood on the front porch of the Bishop residence, on the floor and on the walls of the front hall and bedrooms. Dental records were used to confirm that the bodies found in North Carolina were of Bishop's family.

On March 18, Bishop's station wagon was found abandoned at an isolated campground in Elkmont, Tennessee, at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a few miles from the Appalachian Trail and about 400 miles (640 km) from the site where Bishop's family was buried. The car contained dog biscuits, a bloody blanket, a shotgun, an ax and a shaving kit with Bishop's medication; the trunk's spare-tire well was full of blood. A witness believed the car had been there since anywhere between March 5 to the 7th. Police theorized that Bishop joined the flow of hikers on the Appalachian Trail; they attempted to follow his scent with bloodhounds but without success. The following day, a grand jury indicted Bishop on five counts of first degree murder and other charges.

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