A judge allowed prosecutors to collect Kirby Bradford’s handwriting sample for comparison with a note tied to Robert Bruso’s death.
BELFAST, Maine — Prosecutors say a note with a diagram of Robert Bruso’s property and a list of items including zip ties and a stun gun could help prove Kirby G. Bradford planned the killing of his longtime friend.
The newly public details shift attention from the April 2025 discovery of Bruso’s body to a smaller piece of evidence now at the center of the case: a document police say was found in a workspace connected to Bradford. The note has prompted a court fight over handwriting evidence before trial.
During an April hearing, Assistant Attorney General Mark Rucci told the court that police found the note in garbage from a workspace that belonged to Bradford. Rucci described it as a reasonably detailed diagram of Bruso’s property, along with a list of things to get or actions to accomplish. The listed words and phrases, according to court filings, included “stun gun,” “zip ties,” “covid masks,” “take phone,” “bring him somewhere out of sight,” “duct tape over mouth” and “bag over his head.” Justice Patrick Larson granted the state’s motion to take a handwriting sample from Bradford, saying questions over whether it can be admitted at trial would be handled later.
The handwriting order gives prosecutors another step in building their case, but it does not decide the meaning of the note or whether Bradford wrote it. Defense lawyer Jeremy Pratt can still challenge the sample, the comparison and any attempt to place the document before a jury. The prosecution’s theory is that the note shows planning before a killing. The defense has not had a trial to test that claim. Bradford has pleaded not guilty to murder and to a separate charge of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.
Bruso, 56, was a Palermo concrete contractor whose body was found April 19, 2025, outside his home at 128 Boots and Saddle Road. Maine State Police said troopers went there at about 10:30 a.m. for a welfare check after people close to him could not reach him for weeks. Detectives with the Major Crimes Unit Central found the circumstances suspicious. The Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta later ruled the death a homicide. Police did not announce a murder charge until Sept. 18, when they charged Bradford while he was already jailed on unrelated matters.
Court documents now place the suspected date of death much earlier than the day Bruso was found. Police allege Bruso was killed on or about Feb. 8, 2025. An indictment filed later also listed the date as on or about Feb. 8 and identified the alleged murder weapon as a firearm. The gap between the suspected death and the discovery of the body is one of the central facts in the case. Police say Bruso was found on top of a snowbank on his property, near the tree line by his driveway.
The note is not the only evidence prosecutors have described. In Bradford’s truck, investigators said they found a loaded sawed-off shotgun with its serial number ground off and wrapped in clothing. They also reported finding gloves with what appeared to be light-colored hair on the fingers. Court filings say Bruso’s clothing had small holes consistent with bullet damage. Investigators have not publicly released a full forensic report, and the precise cause of death has not been laid out in the same detail as the state’s timeline and evidence allegations.
The affidavit also describes a relationship that gave Bradford access to Bruso and his property. Bradford told detectives he was one of Bruso’s best friends, and the men had known each other for more than 20 years. Bradford often worked on Bruso’s trucks. A friend said that work continued as recently as January 2025. Prosecutors are expected to use that history to explain why Bradford would know the property and Bruso’s habits. Defense lawyers may argue that a long friendship and vehicle work do not prove murder.
The state has also described a possible motive, though motive is not a formal element prosecutors must prove to win a murder conviction. Bradford’s girlfriend told police that Bradford was addicted to crack cocaine, according to the affidavit. Bruso’s friends said Bruso often kept large sums of cash in the house, including as much as $50,000 during winter months. The affidavit does not publicly establish whether money was taken from the house. It says investigators viewed the cash information as part of the broader circumstances surrounding the alleged killing.
Another part of the case centers on what police say happened after Feb. 8. That day, a Kennebec County sheriff’s deputy responded to an automatic crash notification from Bruso’s cellphone. The deputy found the phone on the roadside but found no crash. When he went to Bruso’s home, he encountered a man described in court papers as scraggly, who told him to leave the phone and said he would get it to Bruso. A voicemail later came from someone claiming to be Bruso and saying he was ice fishing in Greenville. Police say two former co-workers of Bradford identified the voice as his.
Investigators say Bradford also communicated with a childhood friend of Bruso about a month after the alleged killing. The friend asked whether Bradford had seen Bruso. Bradford replied that Bruso had a girlfriend and wrote, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him actually into a chick like this,” according to the affidavit. When the friend expressed hope that it worked out, Bradford answered, “I know right he deserves a good one lol.” Police say the exchange was part of an effort to explain Bruso’s absence without revealing that he was dead.
Bradford’s criminal history and pending charges have also shaped the court path. Records cited in court coverage say he was arrested in July 2025 on drug and firearm allegations. A month later, he was arrested again after an alleged shoe-store robbery in Waterville. He was still in jail when detectives charged him in Bruso’s death in September. In November, a Waldo County grand jury indicted him for knowing and intentional murder. In March 2026, he was indicted on the firearm-possession charge.
Larson later ruled that Bradford will have two trials, one for murder and one for the firearm-possession count. Pratt argued that trying the charges together could unfairly lead jurors to assume that a person prohibited from having a gun possessed one for a criminal purpose. The ruling separated the legal questions but did not remove the firearm from the murder investigation. Prosecutors may still seek to introduce evidence they say connects the gun to Bruso’s death, subject to court rulings.
Bruso’s golden retriever, Lenny, remains part of the public record of the case because the dog disappeared around the time Bruso did. Maine State Police said Lenny had not been located when Bradford was charged and noted the area near Route 3, Boots and Saddle Road and Level Hill Road. The dog’s disappearance is not a charge in the indictment, but investigators included it among the facts surrounding Bruso’s absence and the condition of the property when police arrived.
Next, the case is expected to center on evidence rulings, including the handwriting sample and any challenge to the alleged planning note. Bradford remains held without bail, and no jury has heard the case.
Author note: Last updated May 24, 2026.