Bradford faces murder charges after 7-month investigation
By Ray Finger and Jason Whong
rafinger@gannett.com
The husband of a Lindley woman who initially reported his wife's death as an ATV accident has been charged with murder and other felonies, state police in Painted Post said Friday.
Daniel Bradford Jr., 32, of Hornell Street in Hornell, also was charged with criminal contempt, aggravated criminal contempt, offering a false instrument for filing and tampering with physical evidence in the death of his wife, Jennifer S. Bradford, 28, of Gibson Road, police said in a news release.
The charges are a result of a grand jury indictment handed up Thursday in Steuben County Court and a seven-month investigation, police said. Police said Daniel Bradford staged the accident in order to cover up her slaying.
"His story is it's an ATV accident. Our story is that he killed her," Investigator Steve Crouch said. "Blunt-force trauma to the head is the cause of death."
State police initially investigated reports that Bradford was operating an ATV at an unknown location on Nov. 22, 2009, when his wife was a passenger and had been ejected from the vehicle.
She was initially treated at St. James Mercy Hospital in Hornell and later transferred to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, where she died the following day.
Over the seven-month investigation, Bradford faced other charges.
On Dec. 1, police charged him with second-degree criminal contempt and second-degree criminal trespass. Those charges stemmed from his apparent violation of a restraining order.
In early March, police charged Bradford with fourth-degree witness tampering. Police said he tried to influence a witness that police were about to interview in the accident investigation.
Bradford was released on bail in the previous charges, Crouch said.
On the indictment, the criminal contempt charge alleges Bradford violated an order of protection by repeatedly following his wife, subjecting her to physical contact and intentionally or recklessly causing physical injury to her, police said.
The charge of offering a false instrument for filing alleges Bradford gave a false written statement during the investigation, police said.
The evidence tampering charge alleges he tampered with physical evidence associated with the investigation.
Crouch said the arrest was "pretty simple." Police found him driving in Hornell, pulled him over and arrested him.
Bradford was arraigned without an attorney Friday in Steuben County Court by Judge Marianne Furfure and sent to county jail without bail, Crouch said. He is scheduled to reappear in county court for arraignment with an attorney on Thursday.
Jennifer Bradford had been a nurse's aide at Founders Pavilion in Corning, according to an obituary.
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