A man accused of fatally shooting his wife at their Virginia home fled the state, prompting a manhunt spanning two other states.
Roger Paul Bradford phoned a family member following the killing and confessed that he shot Lisa E. Bradford, on Tuesday, September 22, according to Loudoun County Sheriff Michael L. Chapman, per the Loudoun Times-Mirror.
Then Roger, 60, allegedly fled their Aldie home in a rental car.
Deputies responded to the shooting around 12:10 p.m. that afternoon and discovered Lisa, 54, dead inside the residence, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office said in a Tuesday news release.
The killing set off a multi-state search in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, where Roger was located within hours, according to authorities.
Roger was arrested by Pennsylvania State Police in Bedford around 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday, the sheriff’s office said.
He’s charged with first-degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony in Lisa’s death, according to the agency.
Roger and Lisa shared three children, including one child in high school and two who are in college, Fox 5 DC reported. They weren’t home at the time of the shooting.
Lisa had been a longtime realtor who most recently worked for the national real estate brokerage Compass, her LinkedIn page shows. She joined the company in 2021.
In a statement shared with Fox 5 DC, a Compass spokesperson said: “We are deeply saddened by Lisa’s passing.”
“Our hearts are with her family, friends, and everyone who knew and worked with her during this very difficult time,” the statement added.
A potential motive for the shooting wasn’t specified by law enforcement.
Investigators believe the incident was “domestic in nature,” according to the sheriff’s office, which said there was no threat to the public.
Roger will be extradited from Pennsylvania to Virginia to face charges in Lisa’s death, the agency said.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether he’d retained legal counsel.
A neighbor of the Bradfords, John Niles, told NBC4 Washington that Lisa was “a good person.”
“She would always send us a gift every once and a while and check in with us, see how we’re doing. It’s just really heartbreaking,” Niles said of her death.
Before joining Compass, Lisa had worked as a realtor for Long and Foster Real Estate from August 2011 to March 2011, according to her LinkedIn page. Prior to that, she had been a realtor with RealtySouth in Birmingham, Alabama and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Lisa and Roger bought their Aldie, Virginia, home in 2015, per the Loudoun Times-Mirror. Aldie is located about a 40-mile drive west from Washington, D.C.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.
