Current:Home > FinanceProsecutors say Washington state man charged in 4 murders lured victims with promise of buried gold -Wealth Harmony Labs
Prosecutors say Washington state man charged in 4 murders lured victims with promise of buried gold
View
Date:2025-04-25 10:30:13
SEATTLE (AP) — A Washington state man in jail awaiting trial in one murder case has been charged with three more killings, and prosecutors say he lured all four victims by asking them to help dig up buried gold.
Richard Bradley Jr., 40, was charged in May 2021 with first-degree murder in the death of 44-year-old Brandi Blake, whose body was found buried in a sprawling park in the town of Auburn, Washington. In the last two weeks, prosecutors have filed three more murder charges against Bradley, The Seattle Times reports, in the shooting deaths of a father and adult son in May 2021 and in the 2019 death of a man whose remains were found near Blake’s grave.
Bradley’s defense attorney, Peter Geisness, did not immediately return voice and email messages on Saturday. Bradley is scheduled to stand trial next month in Blake’s death. He has not yet had the opportunity to enter a plea on the other murder charges, according to online court records.
Senior Deputy Prosecutor Thomas O’Ban II wrote in court documents that Bradley is accused of using the same scheme in each of the deaths — allegedly telling the victims he needed their help digging up a stash of stolen gold, taking them to a wooded area and killing them before stealing their vehicles and whatever possessions were inside.
Charging documents say Emilio Maturin was 36 when he was last seen alive in July 2019. His girlfriend reported him missing two weeks later.
According to court documents, she told detectives that she overheard Bradley telling Maturin that “he needed help digging up some buried gold in Auburn.” Maturin initially was skeptical, she told detectives, but allegedly went along anyway. Maturin was in the habit of taking large amounts of money with him whenever he left the house, according to the court documents, and he had roughly $15,000 in cash when he left that day in his recently purchased BMW.
The girlfriend tracked Maturin’s cellphone to Game Farm Park in Auburn and went to look for him but got scared and left, according to charging documents.
Several hours later, Auburn police found an unregistered BMW parked near a large field at the park and waited for the driver to return. When they attempted to stop the driver, the car took off. Bradley was arrested after a car and foot chase and charged with eluding police, according to charging documents.
Michael Goeman, 59, and his son Vance Lakey, 31, were shot to death in March 2021, and their bodies were found on an unmaintained road not far from the park. Goeman received a large inheritance just before he and his son were killed, according to court documents.
Bradley was considered a person of interest in the deaths at the time. He was charged that May with second-degree arson after prosecutors said he offered a man $1,000 to set fire to the father and son’s impounded SUV. On Thursday, prosecutors added two counts of second-degree murder.
Blake went missing in early May 2021. She had won $20,000 at a casino and, like Maturin, was known to carry large amounts of cash, according to court documents. Investigators found her body in a shallow grave at the park later that month — as well as three human ribs about 30 feet (9 meters) away.
Bradley was charged that same month with killing Blake, who died of blunt force injuries. The ribs were later matched by DNA to Maturin, and Bradley was charged with murder in Maturin’s death on Dec. 5 of this year.
veryGood! (77365)
Related
- Eva Mendes Shares Message of Gratitude to Olympics for Keeping Her and Ryan Gosling's Kids Private
- Sean “Diddy” Combs Sued by Model Accusing Him of Sexual Assault
- Vatican makes fresh overture to China, reaffirms that Catholic Church is no threat to sovereignty
- Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs accused of 2003 sexual assault in lawsuit
- Bodycam footage shows high
- Turkish Airlines resumes flights to Afghanistan nearly 3 years after the Taliban captured Kabul
- Reparations proposals for Black Californians advance to state Assembly
- UPS worker killed after falling into trash compactor at facility in Texas
- Why Sean "Diddy" Combs Is Being Given a Laptop in Jail Amid Witness Intimidation Fears
- Tornado kills multiple people in Iowa as powerful storms again tear through Midwest
Ranking
- Selena Gomez engaged to Benny Blanco after 1 year together: 'Forever begins now'
- What is in-flight turbulence, and when does it become dangerous for passengers and crews?
- Russia is waging a shadow war on the West that needs a collective response, Estonian leader says
- Summer House's Lindsay Hubbard Reveals If She's Dating Again 9 Months After Carl Radke Breakup
- 9/11 hearings at Guantanamo Bay in upheaval after surprise order by US defense chief
- Protesters against war in Gaza interrupt Blinken repeatedly in the Senate
- MIT-educated brothers accused of stealing $25 million in cryptocurrency in 12 seconds in Ethereum blockchain scheme
- Pope Francis speaks about his health and whether he'd ever retire
Recommendation
Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs accused of 2003 sexual assault in lawsuit
Takeaways: How Lara Trump is reshaping the Republican Party
Wembanyama becomes 1st NBA rookie to make first-team All-Defense
Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
Poland arrests sabotage suspects and warns of potential hostile acts by Russia
London judge rejects Prince Harry’s bid to add allegations against Rupert Murdoch in tabloid lawsuit
Mad Max 'Furiosa' review: New prequel is a snazzy action movie, but no 'Fury Road'