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Husband wrote out murder journal saying realtor wife 'was to be killed on Tuesday,' then shot her dead exactly as planned at $1.4m mansion, cops say

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Cite

Baum, S. (2026, October 8). Husband wrote out murder journal saying realtor wife 'was to be killed on Tuesday,' then shot her dead exactly as planned at $1.4m mansion, cops say. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16194169/Husband-murder-journal-saying-realtor-wife-killed-Tuesday-shot-dead.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Daily Mail · collected 2026-10-08 · by Sophia Baum
Content note This article describes violence described in detail.

Quick Summary

Roger Bradford, 60, has been charged with second-degree murder and related offenses after allegedly killing his wife, Lisa Bradford, 54, at their $1.4 million home in Aldie, Virginia. According to court documents, Roger carried a journal listing people he planned to kill, including Lisa, who was marked for death on Tuesday, September 22. Police evidence suggests premeditation: security footage shows him purchasing zip ties and driving directly to the family home before the murder occurred around 9 AM.
Written by AI on 2026-10-08, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In September 2023, Roger Bradford, 60, allegedly murdered his wife Lisa Bradford at their $1.4 million mansion in Aldie, Virginia on a Tuesday, just days before what would have been their 22nd wedding anniversary. According to court documents and police affidavits, Roger had written out a murder plan in a journal stating "Lisa was to be killed on Tuesday." After the killing, he fled to Pennsylvania, where he was arrested and later extradited back to Virginia. Prosecutors claim there is clear evidence of premeditation, including Bradford's prior conviction for wire fraud that devastated his finances and mental health, pushing him towards this act. On the day of Lisa’s death, Roger drove a rented Kia Sportage to a storage facility before going to Home Depot, while he later contacted his sister-in-law asking her to look after his children.

Written for “Murder Journal Found At Crime Scene” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Murder Journal Found At Crime Scene
Crime & Law · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
35
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
29%
10 of 35 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
69/100
Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-08 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Daily Mail · 8922 article(s) · 22 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 22 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Sophia Baum
62 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Sophia Baum
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 62 articles by Sophia Baum →

Topics

Aldie Home Depot Kia Sportage Pennsylvania Virginia

Subjects

Bradford PERSON · 11× Lisa PERSON · 11× Pennsylvania GPE · 3× Roger Bradford PERSON · 3× Virginia GPE · 3× Aldie GPE · 2× Drew PERSON · 1× Kaitlyn PERSON · 1× Lisa Bradford PERSON · 1× Maddie PERSON · 1×

Narrative

He had served 20 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud in a construction-related kickback scheme, and in a court declaration filed earlier this year he wrote that his conviction had devastated his finances, damaged his mental health and pushed his marriage toward collapse.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-08
🔮 Lisa was found dead inside the couple's $1.4 million home in Aldie, Virginia, just days before what would have been their 22nd wedding anniversary After allegedly killing his wife, he called his sister in law and asked her to look after his kids On the morning of Lisa's death, Bradford drove a rented Kia Sportage to a storage facility where he shared a unit with his brother before going to Home Depot.

Claims (35 extracted, 10 hedged)

A husband accused of killing his wife at their Virginia mansion allegedly had a list of people he allegedly planned to kill that included her name. uncertain
that → accuse → name
Roger Bradford, 60, was carrying the alleged 'hit list' in his car when he was arrested in Pennsylvania. asserted
he → carry → Pennsylvania
He had fled the $1.4 million Aldie home where his spouse Lisa Bradford, 54, was found dead on September 22, according to court documents. uncertain
spouse → flee → documents
The list was written in a journal and detailed several people Bradford allegedly intended to kill, a detective wrote in an affidavit seeking a search warrant. uncertain
detective → write → warrant
According to the Sherriff's office, the list bore the words 'Lisa was to be killed on Tuesday'. uncertain
Lisa → accord → Tuesday
Bradford was extradited back to Virginia earlier this week and appeared virtually in court on Wednesday. asserted
Bradford → extradite → Wednesday
He was arraigned on charges including second-degree murder and a gun offense in connection with his wife's killing. asserted
He → arraign → killing
Prosecutors have pointed to evidence they say show Bradford had planned Lisa's murder. asserted
Bradford → point → murder
The Commonwealth's Attorney stated that there is 'clear evidence of premeditation.' Roger Bradford, 60, was carrying the alleged 'hit list' when he was arrested in Pennsylvania. asserted
he → state → Pennsylvania
He is accused of killing his wife Lisa Lisa, pictured with her three children, Drew, Maddie, and Kaitlyn at a high school graduation, was remembered as a devoted mom who friends said 'loved her children so much' asserted
friends → accuse → children
Lisa was found dead inside the couple's $1.4 million home in Aldie, Virginia, just days before what would have been their 22nd wedding anniversary After allegedly killing his wife, he called his sister in law and asked her to look after his kids On the morning of Lisa's death, Bradford drove a rented Kia Sportage to a storage facility where he shared a unit with his brother before going to Home Depot. uncertain
he → find → Depot
Security footage allegedly captured him purchasing 36-inch nylon zip ties before he drove to the family home on Quimby Oaks Place, arriving at around 9am. uncertain
he → capture → am
Detectives say the shooting happened shortly afterward. asserted
shooting → say → ?
When deputies arrived at the house, they found Lisa lying face down in an upstairs bedroom with her hands bound behind her back, according to the documents. uncertain
hands → arrive → documents
Multiple bullet casings were littered around the room, while the handgun investigators believe was used in the killing has still not been recovered. asserted
investigators → litter → killing
Around noon, Bradford's sister called the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office in a panic after allegedly receiving a call from her brother. uncertain
sister → call → brother
According to investigators, Bradford told her he had 'shot and killed his wife.' uncertain
he → accord → wife
He allegedly also said he intended to kill himself and asked his sister to collect his minor daughter so she would not return home and see her mother. uncertain
she → say → mother
Instead, Bradford fled in the rental car. asserted
Bradford → flee → car
Authorities tracked the fugitive through Maryland and into Pennsylvania, where he was eventually arrested by Pennsylvania State Police in Bedford County. asserted
he → track → County
He is now being held at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center. asserted
He → hold → Center
The couple had a turbulent marriage that Bradford himself had previously acknowledged was under severe strain. asserted
Bradford → have → strain
He had served 20 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud in a construction-related kickback scheme, and in a court declaration filed earlier this year he wrote that his conviction had devastated his finances, damaged his mental health and pushed his marriage toward collapse. asserted
conviction → serve → collapse
'My marriage with my wife Lisa is now headed to divorce,' Bradford wrote, describing Lisa as an 'incredible woman' and saying the prospect of losing their marriage was 'too much to bear.' asserted
prospect → head → marriage
Prosecutors have pointed to evidence they say show Bradford had planned Lisa's murder Bradford previously served 20 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud over a construction-related kickback scheme. He described his incarceration as 'extraordinarily difficult' asserted
He → point → incarceration
Lisa and Roger Bradford are pictured on their wedding day. asserted
Lisa → picture → day
Court filings reveal that years later Roger wrote that their marriage was 'headed to divorce' after his fraud conviction and prison A vigil was held over the weekend for the beloved Virginia realtor Friends, however, said they had seen little sign of the marital turmoil plaguing the realtor. asserted
they → reveal → realtor
Lisa was known for forming close relationships with clients and colleagues, while friends described her as a devoted mother who adored her three children. 'She was always smiling,' friend Christy Stuart previously told Fox 5. asserted
Stuart → know → children
'No matter every time I saw her, she would greet me with a smile and a hug.' asserted
she → see → smile
At a vigil held after her death, Lisa's friend Jerien Okoh-Tisch played the cello in her memory. asserted
friend → hold → memory
Lisa had once talked about learning the instrument herself and hoped one day to play Ave Maria. asserted
Lisa → talk → Maria
'She was such a light in our lives and such a light in this world,' Okoh-Tisch said. asserted
Tisch → say → world
'She loved her children so much.' asserted
She → love → children
Now her three children are left to grapple with the loss of their mother and the horrifying allegations engulfing her brutal death. asserted
children → leave → death
Bradford indicated during Wednesday's hearing that he wanted to represent himself, and he also asked for a bond hearing scheduled for October 28 to be moved one week earlier because the original date would have fallen on Lisa's birthday. asserted
date → indicate → birthday
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