William Bradford Bishop Jr.

If you know anything about the John List case then you will see that this case is almost a copycat version of that one, just five years later and a few states away.

It is believed that on March 1, 1976 William Bradford Bishop Jr. murdered his wife, mother and three sons in their Bethesda Maryland home. It was not until March 10^th that the police were notified when neighbors realized they had not seen the family in quite some time. Without realizing it, the bodies of Annette, Lobelia, William, Brenton and Geoffrey Bishop had already been found. The one person not found, then or even today over forty years later was William Bradford Bishop Jr.

Some would say that no one could simply disappear and never be found and there have been alleged sightings of Bishop over the years but the reality of it is, if anyone would have been able to pull this off it would have been William Bradford Bishop Jr. Bishop was once a member of the United States Army, he had multiple college degrees but most importantly he worked for the United States State Department in the Foreign Service area. He spent four years in counter intelligence. He was stationed at posts all over the world and he is fluent in at least five languages. To add to all of this he was also known to be an avid outdoors man so he could almost literally fit in anywhere.

I should point out that this is not a case such as the Laura Bible and Ashley Freeman case in Oklahoma in which a man was thought to be the perpetrator of their disappearance until investigators realized that they had missed the mans burned body in his home. In that case the man was only thought to be the perpetrator simply based on the fact that he had not initially been found, but there was never any evidence that he had lived beyond that day.

The story of what happened back in 1976 has had to be pieced together by the evidence that has been found. Regardless, in the end, the motive for the murders is still up for debate. Some say that the family had financial difficulties while others say that they did not. What they do know is that on Monday, March 1^st Bishop had learned that he was not getting a promotion that he wanted. He was still working in the State Department but he was not happy with the position he was in. Some say he was restless and had enjoyed the moving around as he once had done. However, it was also said that Annette had not been a huge fan of that lifestyle. They had settled in Bethesda in 1974 and Annette had gone back to school, something that some say William was also not happy with. Keep in mind this was the early 1970's and for the most part wives and mothers did not work outside the home. On this particular day he told his secretary that he did not feel well and decided to leave the office. To be fair I did not find a time in which this allegedly occurred.

It is believed that after William left his office he went to the bank and took out several hundred dollars. Then he went to the local mall where he bought a sledgehammer and a gas can. He stopped at a gas station where he filled both the gas can and his car up with gas. After that he went to a hardware store where he bought a shovel and a pitchfork. It is believed that he arrived at his home somewhere between 7:30 and 8:00 that evening.

Investigators believe that, using the sledgehammer, William first murdered his wife. They then believe that he attacked his sixty-eight year old mother, Lobelia after she had returned from taking the family dog for a walk. Next were his three sons, fourteen year old William III, ten year old Brenton and five year old Geoffrey, in the upstairs of the home.

After murdering his family William placed the bodies in his station wagon and drove 275 miles to a wooded/swampy area just south of Columbia North Carolina. It was there that he dug a shallow hole, put the bodies inside, and using the gas in the gas can set it on fire. It is believed that William nearly got caught on that early afternoon. The smoke was spotted fairly early by a ranger. The ranger's job was to sit at an elevated area and scan the woods in the area for any signs of smoke or fire. Most of the fire itself was out by the time authorities got to the area, but it was obvious what was being burnt. Near the bodies was the gas can, pitchfork, and shovel. There was still a label on the shovel that indicated where it had been bought.

It is believed that later that day William went to a store in Jacksonville North Carolina and bought new tennis shoes. Witnesses say that he had the family dog with him and while it could not be confirmed he may have been in the accompany of a woman only described at the time as “dark-skinned.”

When law enforcement went into the Bishop home on March 10^th they would find blood everywhere. There were even drag marks in blood from the home to the drive-way from when he had put the bodies in his car. They knew something horrible happened in that home. Dental records would eventually prove that the bodies found in North Carolina belonged to the Bishop family.

On March 18^th the Bishop station wagon was found abandoned in a campground at The Great Smokey Mountains National Park in Tennessee. Witnesses believed that the car was left in the area somewhere between March 5^th and 7^th. Inside the car investigators found dog biscuits, a bloody blanket, a shotgun, an ax and a shaving kit that contained medication belonging to William. The well for the spare tire in the back was full of blood. The following day a grand jury in Maryland indicted William on five counts of first degree murder.

Over the last forty plus years there have been several alleged sightings of William. The FBI has stated that at least a few of them have seem credible as they were reported by people who knew William personally. The last of these credible sighting occurred in 1994. In 2014 the FBI placed William Bradford Bishop on their Ten Most Wanted List. He remained there until June 27, 2018 when the FBI removed his name saying they were making room for a “dangerous fugitive.” They have stated that they are still pursuing the Bishop case and following leads. If he is still alive he would be eighty-one years old.

Also in 2014 a sculpture was made to indicate what experts believe William Bishop would look like as he then neared the age of eighty. This worked well in the John List case but apparently has provided no results at this time. At least two bodies in recent years have been tested through fingerprints or DNA of deceased individuals that were thought to possibly be Bishop. The results proved this to not be true.

This case has been featured on television shows such as Unsolved Mysteries, America's Most Wanted and even The Hunt with John Walsh.