A Bexar County judge told both sides to get ready for trial. The case is the murder charge against Brad Simpson. He is accused of killing his wife, Suzanne Simpson. She was an Olmos Park mom and real estate agent.

Suzanne Simpson has been missing since October 2024. Her body has never been found.

Judge Joel Perez runs the 437th Criminal District Court in Bexar County. He held a hearing in July 2026. He told prosecutors and defense lawyer Steven Gilmore to start planning for trial. That means sharing witness lists early. It also means deciding what parts of police body camera video the jury can see.

"Everybody is telling me that this is going to be a long trial," Perez said at the hearing.

This is a big step. The case has moved through court for almost two years. Suzanne Simpson vanished in the fall of 2024. Her disappearance shook Olmos Park. That is a small city tucked inside San Antonio. The next court date is tentatively set for August 31, 2026. It will be at the Bexar County Courthouse.

Suzanne Clark Simpson went to a party on October 6, 2024. It was at The Argyle in Alamo Heights. She never made it home. Her husband, Brad Simpson, is now 55. He told police she was missing the next day. Police arrested him three days later. That was October 9, 2024.

Prosecutors charged Simpson with murder on November 7, 2024. A grand jury indicted him the next month. He also faces two more felony charges. One is tampering with a body. The other is having illegal weapons. His business partner, James Cotter, faces his own charge. Police say Cotter helped hide an illegal assault rifle.

Simpson has pleaded not guilty to all charges. If a jury finds him guilty of murder, he could go to prison for life.

Court records point to some key evidence. Camera video allegedly shows Simpson's truck the day after Suzanne went missing. It shows trash bags. It shows a big trash can. It shows something wrapped in a blue tarp. Phone records reportedly show his phone turning on and off. This happened while he drove near Boerne and Bandera. Police say they found Suzanne's DNA on a power saw.

The case has moved slow. A trial date was once set for February 2026. It got pushed back. A second judge spent months looking at sensitive evidence in private. That judge had to decide what both sides could see. That review slowed the case down even more. In May 2026, Gilmore told the court he had hoped for a trial date that day. He did not get one.

"We're kind of at the mercy of the court," Gilmore said at that hearing.

No trial date is set yet. But the July order to start trial prep is a real sign. The case is finally moving toward a trial. The August 31 hearing could bring more news on timing.

Olmos Park is a small, upscale city inside San Antonio. It has its own police force and city hall, even though homes there sit just blocks from downtown San Antonio. Suzanne Simpson worked there as a realtor. She left behind children.

The case has drawn attention well past South Texas. National outlets like NBC News and CBS News have covered the story. Part of that interest comes from the missing body. Prosecutors are trying to prove a murder case without ever finding Suzanne Simpson.

Two years since she went missing will hit in October 2026. That date comes just weeks after the next hearing. The biggest question is still open: where is Suzanne Simpson. Police have never found her remains. The case rests on video, phone records, and DNA. It does not rest on a body.

El Tejano will keep following this case as it heads toward trial.