January 28, 2009
A 38-year-old Jackson County man is accused of murder in the shooting death of his wife at their Dudleytown home last Thursday night.
Bryon S. Bradley of 2456 S. 750 E will be charged with the murder of his wife, authorities. Bradley remains at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, where he was taken after an incident that left his wife, Nancy M. Bradley, 39, dead of a gunshot wound. Bradley inflicted cuts upon himself in an apparent attempted suicide, Sheriff Marc Lahrman said.
Authorities said, Nancy Bradley’s 16-year-old son was home at the time but was not injured. He and others who knew the Bradleys said there had been some squabbling between the couple recently, but police had not been to the home, Lahrman said. An autopsy was conducted at Louisville on Friday morning, the sheriff said.
Police reported Nancy Bradley found dead inside the couple’s residence just south of Dudleytown after police were called there after receiving a report of a female who had been shot. Jackson County Dispatch received a 911 call at 9:22 p.m. Thursday stating that a female had been shot and the male was still inside the residence with a gun.
Officers with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department and Indiana State Police arrived on the scene, spoke briefly with a witness and entered the residence. Authorities said Bryon Bradley was located, secured and his injuries were treated by Jackson County Ambulance Service.
Nancy Bradley was pronounced dead at the scene by Jackson County Coroner Roger Wheeler.
Bryon Bradley was taken to Schneck Medical Center by Jackson County Ambulance Service and treated for his injuries. Later, he was flown to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis by PHI.
Sheriff’s department personnel have been traveling to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis to stand watch over Bradley.
Lahrman said he hopes that Bradley is soon well enough to be transferred to Wishard Hospital, which has a secure lockup for inmates.
“We’ve used them before, and they do a good job,” Lahrman said of the lockup, which is manned by Marion County Sheriff’s Department personnel.
“It’s a scheduling nightmare,” Lahrman said of sending officers to Methodist. “We have someone leaving every six or seven hours to go up there.”
The sheriff said Bradley could be brought home to appear in court in connection with his wife’s murder in a week or two.
Lahrman also said police are not sure how cooperative Bradley will be once his treatment begins to wind down.
“He’s been pretty sedated most of the time,” Lahrman said.
Detectives continue to work the case and are trying to put together every little detail they can, Lahrman said.
“We think we’re in pretty good shape,” he said.
Husband Pleads Guilty:
BROWNSTOWN — A rural Seymour man pleaded guilty Monday to murdering his wife.
The murder plea of Bryon S. Bradley, 39, came less than 24 hours before he was to stand trial this morning in Jackson Circuit Court.
Bradley pleaded guilty around noon Monday before Jackson Circuit Judge Bill Vance. Vance ordered a sentencing investigation and set a hearing for 9 a.m. Jan. 4.
“I was unaware that was going to happen,” Chief Deputy Prosecutor Amy Travis said Monday afternoon.
She first learned from Bradley’s defense attorney, Shawn Louden of Seymour, that there might be a plea Monday morning.
“I checked with the mother of the victim and the father of the victim’s son, and they were supportive of a plea agreement if he was going to plead guilty to murder,” Travis said.
And that’s what Bradley was willing to plead to, the highest charge in Indiana. The charge carries what’s called an advisory sentence of 55 years imprisonment with a range of 45 years to 65 years, depending upon mitigating and aggravating circumstances in an individual case.
Travis said she was unaware of what caused Bradley to enter a guilty plea but did comment on the state’s case against him. “I think our evidence was really good,” she said.
Questioned Monday afternoon about the plea, Louden declined to comment on his client’s apparent change of heart in the case.
Bradley faced a murder charge as well as charges of criminal confinement and pointing a handgun in connection with the slaying of his wife, Nancy M. Bradley, in an apparent murder-suicide attempt at their home near Dudleytown on Jan. 22.
Officers responding to the Bradley home in Dudleytown found Nancy Bradley, 39, dead from a gunshot wound. A handgun was found next to her body. Bryon Bradley was found on a bed in the bedroom of the couple’s home at 2456 S. 750E. He had at least two self-inflicted cuts to his abdomen, police said.
Bradley was hospitalized on and off for several weeks after the incident. He is now being held at the Jackson County Jail in Brownstown.
According to the court documents, Bradley told police he and his wife been arguing, he had a gun and “it went bad.”
