The Murder of the Bishop Family

Episode 086

William Bradford Bishop

On March 10th, 1976 a concerned neighbor contacted local authorities. She hadn't seen the Bishop family for more than a week and mail was piling up. It was unlike them to just up and leave without saying anything, and so police sent a detective over to perform a welfare check.

Upon entering the home, the detective found a grisly bloodbath. There was evidence of a brutal and violent crime, but no bodies were found. At first, police believed the entire Bishop family had been murdered but then they learned the horrible truth.

Police in Columbia, North Carolina had discovered five brutally battered bodies dumped in a ditch and set on fire. It would turn out to be Annette Bishop, he three sons and her mother-in-law, Lobelia. Annette's husband, and the father of her children, William Bradford Bishop was missing.

While it was initially believed that Bradford might be a victim as well, evidence would soon begin telling a far more sinister story and a massive manhunt was launched.

Recorded in part Live at the True Crime Podcast festival, alongside Nina Innsted from Already Gone comes Trace Evidence - Episode 86 - The Murder of the Bishop Family.

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Sources:

https://www.newspapers.com/image/261533628/?terms=william%2Bbradford%2Bbishop

https://www.nbcwashington.com/investigations/series/brad-bishop/Inside-the-Evidence-Room-in-the-Hunt-for-William-Bradford-Bishop-254602021.html

https://www.wbir.com/article/news/crime/appalachian-unsolved-the-diplomat-accused-of-murdering-his-family-part-1/51-512842729

https://www.washingtonpost.com/apps/g/page/local/timeline-the-search-for-bradford-bishop/1371/

https://patch.com/maryland/bethesda-chevychase/bethesda-family-annihilator-40-year-search-resume

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/body-exhumed-in-alabama-not-fugitive-bradford-bishop/2014/10/15/02ac40a4-54b4-11e4-ba4b-f6333e2c0453_story.html?utm_term=.e97f06a1a638

https://www.apnews.com/b12a1dcb96e6c91b5f9ee75b30e42867

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ezvzpm/the-fbi-gamified-the-hunt-for-one-of-its-most-wanted

https://ssristories.org/fbi-searching-for-william-bradford-bishop-business-insider/

https://bethesdamagazine.com/Bethesda-Magazine/May-June-2013/Bradford-Bishop-Murders/

https://www.wbir.com/article/news/crime/appalachian-unsolved-the-diplomat-accused-of-killing-his-family-part-2/51-516155553

https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2006-10-14-0610140093-story.html