William Bradford Bishop Murder Case: After Forty Years, Is It Time to Move On?
Henceforth I ask not good fortune; I myself am good-fortune. Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing, Strong and content, I travel the open road. ~ Bradford Bishop's diary. Oct. 9, 1965
Toxic, degenerate psychoses with confabulation. Chronic, low-level maniac involutional [sic] megalomania. ~ Bradford Bishop's diary. Feb. 27, 1967
March 1, 2016
William Bradford Bishop's journey into mental illness is a fascinating one, but one about which we have precious little information. After Bishop mercilessly slaughtered his wife, mother and three young sons on this date forty years ago and absconded to who knows where, law enforcement sought out his psychotherapy records from Dr. Frank Caprio, a Washington, DC-based shrink whom Bishop had been seeing once or twice a week. But Caprio refused to cooperate, citing "doctor-patient privilege." A source working this case told me Caprio also was apparently so shaken by his patient's crime that he quit his practice. Caprio died in 1995. It's a mystery to this writer as to whether law enforcement ever subpoenaed the records and, if not, why not. If so, they should be made public. Just reading Bishop's diary provides a glimpse into his mental deterioration. Caprio's records would expand on that enormously.
Another question that intrigues me is whether the State Department's Medical Unit (MED) was even aware of Bishop (and his wife, Annette) undergoing psychiatric treatment. We now know that Bishop had been in therapy for depression at least since 1971, five years before he murdered his family. This is important because an employee experiencing mental health issues can lose his/her security clearance. This was as valid four decades ago as it is today. Some employees seek out therapy without revealing it to the Department even though all Foreign Service employees are required to have a full medical exam done by MED every five years, or prior to overseas assignment. Without a security clearance, one's career is in dire jeopardy. One loses the right to handle classified information. It's like a physician having his right to practice medicine revoked, or a pilot deprived of his pilot's license. Was this one of the pressures bearing down on Bishop?
Bishop initially was rejected for employment with the State Department. He had passed the entrance exams. He had already had a top secret clearance from his four years with Army intelligence. But he had a medical condition: a heart murmur. Undaunted, Bishop appealed the decision and won. He joined the Foreign Service in October 1965. Just over a year later, he was writing in increasingly erratic handscript about "Toxic, degenerate psychoses with confabulation," etc. And still later, "This accursed insomnia." Bishop, still in his 20s, clearly was descending into a vortex of emotional pain and irrationality.
His medical and mental issues weren't his only problems. A security evaluation dated April 1965, five months before he was hired by State, described Bishop as "weak in 1) judgment; 2) flexibility; and 3) ability to apply common sense and sound judgment." In his evaluation, the security professional concluded, "because of apparently serious weaknesses in judgment, discretion and ability to evaluate possible courses of action," he was "reluctant to recommend his (Bishop's) appointment as a Foreign Service Officer."
Lots of red flags. Bishop nonetheless was taken on as one of a handful of individuals who are recruited annually into the highly competitive U.S. Foreign Service. But that's water under the bridge.
Another thing that intrigues me is how long a depressive, suddenly deprived of therapy and medication, can live. A recent Veterans Administration study found that "depression was associated with significantly earlier ages at death and more years of productive life lost for all of the 13 causes of death that were examined in the study. These included accidents, cerebrovascular issues, diabetes mellitus, heart disease, homicide, influenza and pneumonia, liver disease, malignant neoplasms (cancer), nephritis (kidney disease), respiratory disease, septicemia (blood infection), and suicide. All other causes of death were included in a 14th category—and here, too, death came earlier for depressed patients... These findings highlight the importance of depression as a potential contributor to early mortality." Add this to his heart murmur and one needs to ask, "Can Bradford Bishop have reached 80 years of age?" August 1 marks his 80th birthday.
I would guess not, except for one fly in the ointment. Was Bishop actually depressed? Or was he simply a conscience-free criminal who had planned out his crime meticulously long in advance? A psychiatrist in practice for over three-and-a-half decades told me that, based on what he has seen about Bishop, it was unlikely that he was indeed clinically depressed. A person suffering from diagnosable depression experiences difficulties functioning in daily life - holding down a job and doing it capably, maintaining social relationships, etc. Bishop received good marks from his State Department superiors for his work performance. He maintained various households over the years both in DC and abroad even while under financial pressures. He was active in sports and other recreational activities. Moreover, investigators found out that Bishop had carried on several extramarital affairs over the years, something that required care and cunning. My source tells me that diagnosis of depression, as well as other mental conditions, was highly unreliable four decades ago and indeed still is. In his view, Bishop was a "high functioning criminal." His having planned out his family's murders and disposal of their bodies well in advance reveals "a highly capable individual," but one under tremendous emotional strain. Hence, he sought therapy. The medication he was taking, Serax (Oxazepam), is an anti-anxiety drug, not an anti-depressant. Bishop, this source surmises, was under tremendous strain from his marital and financial difficulties, but even more so from his plan to kill his family members. He therefore likely suffered from anxiety, not depression.
Brad Bishop was a health nut, except for his occasional smoking. He was a skier, swimmer, tennis player and nature enthusiast. At 39, he was 6'1", 180 pounds and very fit. He also had a healthful diet. Add to this his above-average IQ and intellectual interests and you have a man who had above-average odds to live into an advanced age, heart murmur notwithstanding.
There have been a number of "live sightings" of Brad Bishop over the years. A Swedish woman who knew him in Ethiopia, reported that she had spotted him twice in a Stockholm park in 1978. A former State Department colleague claimed to have encountered Bishop in a Sorrento, Italy men's room in 1979. And a former Bethesda neighbor reported seeing him on a Swiss train in 1994. There have been other, less credible sightings as well as dead bodies that resembled Bishop but were not him.
So, is he still alive?
Personally, I place little credibility in the live sightings. The former colleague's claim to having seen Bishop in Italy has been totally discredited by investigators. The theory of six degrees of separation aside, I just find it really hard to believe that a former friend in Ethiopia and an ex-Bethesda neighbor would chance upon Bishop in Sweden and Switzerland. What are those odds? Bishop's face is of a type that is not uncommon among adult Caucasian males. Following are some random photos of Bishop lookalikes and two of Bishop (in his 30s and aged enhanced):
I once encountered my own doppelganger overseas. People got us confused all the time. Trouble was, I was a U.S. diplomat and he was a Russian KGB officer. We all have doppelgangers. There are websites devoted to finding people's lookalikes.
How has law enforcement performed on this case? Doggedly. The Montgomery County, MD's sheriff's office has devoted many resources, attention and time in following up on leads. Sheriff Popkin, a very busy supervisor, personally takes tips from the public no matter how apocryphal or harebrained. And those now in retirement continue to pay close attention to the case and help out as they can. The other agencies, State Department Diplomatic Security, the FBI and the U.S. Marshals have also been persistent, though focus has waxed and waned as the years have passed.
Where has law enforcement been lacking? First of all, it must be borne in mind that Bishop had a week's head start before police were able to identify the Bishop family remains and thereby connect the dots to Brad Bishop. The cops worked assiduously, but a week's lead time gave fugitive Bishop a tremendous advantage for his getaway. I fault law enforcement in three main areas: 1) the FBI's waiting 38 years before it placed Bishop on their Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list; 2) some folks' pursuing a delusional CIA angle is not only silly but a waste of time and resources (see my blog post on this); and 3) overlooking the Bankston letter. Bishop had been carrying on correspondence with convicted bank robber A. Ken Bankston. The latter, writing from a prison cell, referred to some tantalizing clues about accomplices and locales. The letter, written in March 1976, wasn't revealed until 1992 from State Department files. How could State DS have overlooked such a piece of evidence? The FBI said it had looked into Bankston in 1976, but dismissed him as a fraud. Bankston died 1983. No one had questioned him.
We can solidly conclude that Bishop had 1) carefully planned the murders of his family members; and 2) carefully plotted his escape and vanishing from public view. I believe we cannot assume with certainty that he moved to Europe. He very well could be hiding in plain sight in the United States. "It's much easier to fade into the background of your own country without having to get fake papers in another country," according to FBI Special Agent in Charge, Steve Vogt, who was instrumental in getting Bishop placed on the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. But 40 years on, the trail is very cold and very old. The FBI managed to capture Boston gangster Whitey Bulger, at age 81, after 16 years on the lam; and family annihilator, John List, at age 63, after 17 years in hiding. Bishop has been missing now for 40 years; he turns 80 this year. Of the 505 lawbreakers who have made it to the FBI's list, 474 have been caught. Brad Bishop is the oldest and on the run the longest.
The competition to get placed on that list is very high. There are a lot of bad guys out there, much younger and much more dangerous who deserve to be put on it. Is it time therefore to admit failure and give up? To chalk the Bishop murders up as an unresolvable cold case? No. Not yet. But perhaps it is time to remove Bishop from the list in favor of another case, less cold and equally deserving the public's attention. I am not a betting man, but if forced, I'd wager that Brad Bishop is dead and likely has been dead for a long time. The trail is cold, the clues that he is alive few and, if so, credible leads about Bishop's whereabouts thin to nonexistent.
In his last diary entry on Oct. 23, 1971, Bishop wrote, "Try again, much harder - one last great effort - come home."
See also --
No Gravestone Unturned: The Search for Brad Bishop Goes On
Is This Dead Man William Bradford Bishop, Jr?
Two Down... Another Fugitive Dead: Brad Bishop - Time is Running Out
One Down... CNN's "The Hunt" Leads to the Killing of A Fugitive - Brad Bishop: Pay Attention
Myths Surrounding the William Bradford Bishop Murder Case
CNN Interview on FBI Most Wanted Fugitive William Bradford Bishop, Jr.
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