AUBURN, Washington – A man in Washington State, already in jail for one murder, now faces three additional murder charges for killings that prosecutors allege were part of a scheme to lure victims by promising buried gold.
Richard Bradley Jr., 40, was initially charged in May 2021 with the murder of 44-year-old Brandi Blake, whose body was found buried in a park in Auburn. Now, prosecutors have filed three more murder charges against Bradley. The charges stem from the shooting deaths of a father and son in May 2021 and the 2019 death of another man, whose remains were found near Blake’s grave, according to court documents.
Bradley’s defense attorney, Peter Geisness, has not yet responded to requests for comment. Bradley is set to stand trial next month for Blake’s death and has not entered a plea for the other murder charges, according to court records.
Senior Deputy Prosecutor Thomas O’Ban II wrote in court documents that Bradley allegedly used the same scheme in each of the deaths: luring victims under the pretense of finding stolen gold, then leading them to wooded areas and killing them before stealing their vehicles and belongings.
Emilio Maturin, one of the victims, was 36 when he went missing in July 2019. His girlfriend reported him missing two weeks later and told detectives she overheard Bradley asking Maturin to help dig up buried gold in Auburn, according to court documents. Maturin was last seen with a large sum of cash and had recently purchased a BMW.
Michael Goeman, 59, and his son Vance Lakey, 31, were shot to death in March 2021, and their bodies were found near the park. Goeman had recently received a large inheritance before their deaths. Bradley was charged with arson related to their case and then charged with two counts of second-degree murder.
Blake, who had won a large sum of money at a casino, was also known to carry large amounts of cash, similar to Maturin. Investigators found her body and human remains at the park in May 2021, leading to Bradley’s initial murder charge.
The pattern of murders and the alleged lure of buried treasure have revealed a disturbing series of events in the Auburn area, with Bradley at the center of multiple investigations. The suspected actions of Bradley have resulted in continued attention from law enforcement and the community.