KOKOMO, Ind. — In mid-January, 44-year-old Brandi Bradley of Kokomo went missing. A video posted to her social media prior to her disappearance may have been tragically prophetic.
“If I end up dead and my dismembered body is found all over Kokomo, it was John Christy,” Bradley warned.
On Tuesday, 16 days after a missing persons report was officially filed for Bradley’s disappearance, Jonathan Christy was arrested on one count of murder. Police said his arrest stemmed from their investigation into the missing woman, but have not confirmed if the woman’s body has been found.
Court documents obtained by FOX59/CBS4 reveal, however, that the search for Bradley led investigators to trace Christy’s steps. One of the places that search led police was to a dumpster in Kempton where Christy allegedly threw out some debris from a job site. In that dumpster, amidst bits of ash and melted debris, investigators found burnt bones — bones a doctor believes to be human.
While a missing person’s report wasn’t filed for Bradley until Feb. 11, police said the 44-year-old woman was last seen and heard from on Jan. 19. From the beginning, Christy was a suspect in Bradley’s disappearance. Bradley lived in Christy’s home, who later told police he had a “bad habit of taking in strays.”
Several friends of Bradley told police that Christy had been abusive to Bradley in the past, including choking the woman. Bradley made posts on social media about her issues with Christy, including the post where she predicted her death at his hands.
Investigators said police were called out to the home where Christy and Bradley lived five times between Dec. 30, 2023 and Jan. 19. There had reportedly been a lot of arguing and fighting in the home, where another woman also lived with Bradley and Christy.
Witnesses told police that after Bradley’s disappearance, Christy spray-painted his truck and was heard asking around about “burn piles” where he could discard some items.
Christy later told police he worked construction and used these locations to get rid of various debris left over from jobs.
At one of these locations, on Feb. 14, police reportedly found a small red stain believed to be blood.
On the same day at another location, one near Kempton on Division Road, police stated there was a dumpster with “definite signs” that a fire had been lit inside the dumpster. Digging through the dumpster, police found burnt remains of a necklace, a tarp, a belt and other melted debris.
Then police found what they believed to be human finger bones.
On Feb. 15, police had the bones examined by a doctor. The doctor’s team concluded that the bones found were arm, rib and finger bones. The doctor stated “with high confidence” that the bones were likely human but tests would need to be done in a lab to confirm.
Police pressed further into the investigation into Christy, listening to a recorded prison call with Christy and another individual. In the call, Christy pressed the individual about a conversation they had with police.
“Did you tell them I did it?” he asks.
Court documents reveal that police were contacted by an individual on Feb. 26 who claimed to have vital information into the case, but were worried about if they’d be charged in relation to Bradley’s death.
The individual eventually spoke to police and claimed that Christy called them one day in January and offered them $500 to help with a job. The individual went to a home where Christy told them, “It’s done.”
Inside the home, the individual claimed to see Bradley’s body lying dead on the ground with a bag over her head and a belt around her neck.
Christy allegedly told the individual that Bradley had trashed his house which led him to “lose control” and attack her with a wrench.
The individual told police that Christy then made them help load Bradley into his truck where they drove to a house on Divison Road. The individual described there being a large dumpster outside the home.
Christy reportedly told the individual, “I have to burn it,” in reference to Bradley’s body. The individual then witnessed Christy light the body on fire, according to his account.
The day after police spoke with this alleged witness, police arrested Christy on a preliminary charge of murder. On Wednesday, the Howard County Prosecutor officially filed a murder charge against Christy.
