Man who cops say tied his wife's hands behind her back and shot her dead over their marriage ending told to stop talking by judge during first court appearance

The man who authorities say plotted to fatally shoot his wife before carrying out the act made a startling first appearance in a Virginia court this week.

Roger Bradford, 60, faces charges of murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony in the death of 54-year-old Lisa Bradford, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) announced on Sept. 22.

The defendant appeared virtually in court on Wednesday from the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center, as regional Fox affiliate WTTG detailed. He apparently was not afraid to speak, sharing how he would be representing himself as, he said, “I don’t trust lawyers, they are the worst criminals.”

“I’ll make it easy on you,” he added. “I don’t want no bond hearing. I’m right where I need to be.”

It was at this point that the judge reportedly recommended he stop speaking.

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Roger Bradford, however, wanted clarity on the murder charge, saying he was given court documents stating he was charged with second-degree murder, not first-degree murder, according to the area TV station. The judge conceded that the arrest records did indeed say second-degree murder, but prosecutors noted they intend to pursue a first-degree murder charge based on the evidence found so far.

That evidence points to Sept. 22, when Roger Bradford allegedly stopped at a storage facility in Ashburn, Virginia, to pick up .45-caliber ammunition in a locker and then drove to a Home Depot about 12 miles south in South Riding, Virginia, and bought 36-inch zip ties.

At about 9 a.m. that day, the defendant returned to his and his wife’s house on the 24000 block of Quimby Oaks Place in Aldie, Virginia, which is about 40 miles west of Washington, D.C. He allegedly then shot and killed Lisa Bradford.

After allegedly shooting his wife, Roger Bradford called his sister, apologized, and asked her to pick up his teenage daughter from school so the girl would not see what he did, according to court records. The sister then called police, who arrived at the home to find Lisa Bradford face down on her bed, with her hands tied behind her back and a pillow over her head.

Roger Bradford was caught later that day in Pennsylvania, where state police said they found a journal inside his rental car containing a list of other possible targets. At the top of the list was Lisa Bradford’s name, along with a declaration that she was to be killed on the very day she was slain, Sept. 22, authorities allege.

Court records reviewed by Law&Crime show that Roger Bradford previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud related to a kickback scheme in Iowa stretching back to 2019. He was sentenced to serve time in prison, and in an attempt to appeal in January, he shared that he was “suicidal many nights” while in custody, adding, “I have had my professional reputation and relationships destroyed as a result of my felony conviction.”

“My marriage with my wife Lisa is now headed to divorce as the pressures and injustice of this nightmare took its toll on our marriage and our life together,” Roger Bradford wrote in a January filing, adding that his marriage “likely coming to an end is too much to bear.”

In the present case, when the court tried to schedule a review hearing for Oct. 28, the defendant asked if they could settle on a different day because that is Lisa Bradford’s birthday, according to WTTG.

“I think I will be in psychosis that day,” the defendant added.

The post Man who cops say tied his wife’s hands behind her back and shot her dead over their marriage ending told to stop talking by judge during first court appearance first appeared on Law & Crime.