‘If I end up dead.’ Woman’s online warnings lead cops to bones in dumpster, police say
An Indiana man has been arrested after his roommate disappeared and the investigation led police to a dumpster filled with bones.
Jonathan Christy, 39, is charged with murder in the death of his roommate, Brandi Bradley.
Attorney information for Christy was not listed in public court records as of Feb. 29.
On Feb. 11, Bradley, 44, was reported missing in Kokomo, according to an arrest affidavit. The person who reported her missing told police she hadn’t heard from Bradley since mid-January.
While speaking to police, the person said there was a history of violence between Bradley and Christy, and that Christy made threats to kill Bradley in the past, the affidavit said.
Brandi Bradley sends Warnings
Authorities discovered what seemed to be a warning from Bradley posted to social media.
“If I end up dead and my dismembered body is found all over Kokomo, it was John Christy,” Bradley said in a video shared to social media, according to police.
Police spoke with people who knew Bradley. One person said they last spoke with Bradley on Jan. 20 on Facebook, according to court records. This person told officers there had been physical altercations between Bradley and Christy, in which Bradley was choked.
Between Dec. 30 and Jan. 19, police were called to the apartment Bradley and Christy shared together five times, court records said.
Another person told police that on Jan. 20, Christy contacted her boyfriend asking if he knew of a burn pit where Christy could burn documents and a carpet. The boyfriend said he could use his mother’s property in Oakford, however, Christy never went, police said.
Bones in a dumpster
Authorities tried to track down Christy to question him about Bradley’s disappearance. On Feb. 14, they interviewed Christy at a police station, records show.
During the interview, Christy said he hadn’t seen Bradley in about three weeks, since they got into an argument at their apartment, the affidavit said.
When officers asked Christy about him inquiring about a burn pit, Christy said he had some old items from his late wife he wanted to burn, according to court records. However, he said instead of using the property in Oakford, he burned the items in a dumpster at a job site in Kempton, officials said.
Police asked Christy if he had anything to do with Bradley’s disappearance and if they would find anything unusual in the dumpster, to which Christy responded “no” to both questions, according to the affidavit.
While searching the dumpster a second time, authorities found what appeared to be burned human bones, including what looked like finger, arm and rib bones, according to the affidavit.
Police said they also found red carpet fibers inside Christy’s vehicle that matched the red carpet in Bradley’s room and some found in the dumpster.
Jail calls
On Feb. 16, police interviewed a woman who knew Christy and spent time with him at his apartment, authorities said, and the woman told police she overheard Christy on the phone with someone talking about disposing of something.
The woman said when she asked Christy about it, he got “really (expletive) mad,” the affidavit said. Then, he told her if she said anything about it, she was going to end up “in the same place she’s at,” the woman told police.
When she asked Christy what he meant, she said he grabbed her and began choking her, according to police.
On Feb. 18, while the woman was incarcerated in the Howard County Jail, a phone call between her and Christy was recorded.
While on the call, Christy asked the woman how her “interrogation thing” went. Then he asked her, “did you tell them I did it?” according to court records.
During an interview with an unnamed man, police said the man told them he was contacted in mid-January by Christy asking if he wanted to make $500, court records said. When the man showed up to Christy’s home, he said Christy opened the door and said “it’s done.”
The man said he asked what he was talking about, and Christy opened the door and took him inside. The man told police it smelled like battery acid, and then he saw Bradley’s body lying on the floor with a plastic bag over her head, according to police.
The man asked Christy, “What did you do? What have you gotten me into?” He told police that Christy said he came home and saw that Bradley “trashed his house and he lost control,” and then he beat her with a wrench, court records said.
The man said Christy told him at some point Bradley woke up so he began hitting her again, then placed a plastic bag over her head to make sure she was dead, police said.
The man told police he helped Christy move Bradley’s body because he was scared of Christy and panicked, court records said.
A few days later, the man said he drove Christy to the location where the dumpster was. He said Christy told him he had “to burn it,” referring to Bradley’s body, according to police. Then he said he saw Christy light a fire and “it became fully engulfed,” court records say.
Christy was booked into the Howard County Jail on several charges, including murder, on Feb. 27, records show.
Kokomo is about 60 miles north of Indianapolis.
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