Article:
A Washington state man, Richard Bradley Jr., who is currently in jail awaiting trial for one murder case, has now been charged with three more killings. Prosecutors allege that Bradley lured all four victims by asking them to help dig up buried gold. According to court documents, the victims were either carrying large amounts of cash or had recently come into a substantial sum of money.

The first murder charge against Bradley was filed in May 2021 in the death of 44-year-old Brandi Blake. Her body was discovered buried in a park located in Auburn, Washington. In the past two weeks, prosecutors have added three more murder charges against Bradley, as reported by The Seattle Times. These charges include the shooting deaths of a father and adult son in May 2021, as well as the 2019 death of a man whose remains were found near Blake's grave.

Bradley's defense attorney, Peter Geisness, has not yet responded to requests for comment. While Bradley is scheduled to stand trial next month for Blake's death, he has not had the opportunity to enter a plea on the other murder charges, according to online court records.

Currently, Bradley is being held at the King County Correctional Facility on multiple charges, which include murder, arson, unlawful possession of a firearm, identity theft, and trafficking in stolen property.

According to Senior Deputy Prosecutor Thomas O'Ban II, Bradley is accused of using the same scheme in each of the deaths. Allegedly, he told the victims that he needed their assistance in digging up a stash of stolen gold. He would then take them to a wooded area, where he would reportedly kill them and steal their vehicles along with any possessions they had with them.

One of the victims mentioned in the court documents is Emilio Maturin, who went missing in July 2019. Maturin's girlfriend reported him missing two weeks later and told detectives that she overheard Bradley asking Maturin for help in digging up buried gold in Auburn. Despite his initial skepticism, Maturin allegedly agreed to assist Bradley. Maturin was known to carry large sums of money and had approximately $15,000 in cash when he left his home on that fateful day in his recently purchased BMW.

Authorities discovered Maturin's cellphone in Game Farm Park in Auburn, where his girlfriend had tracked it. However, she became frightened and left the location before finding Maturin. Several hours later, police found an unregistered BMW parked near the park. They waited for the driver to return but when they attempted to stop the vehicle, it fled. Bradley was arrested after a car and foot chase and charged with eluding police, according to charging documents.

Another case that implicated Bradley is the shooting death of Michael Goeman, 59, and his son Vance Lakey, 31, in March 2021. The bodies were found near the park, and Goeman had recently received a significant inheritance, according to court documents. Bradley was already considered a person of interest in this case and was charged with second-degree arson for allegedly paying someone to set fire to the father and son's impounded SUV. Prosecutors have now added two counts of second-degree murder to his charges.

Brandi Blake, who had recently won $20,000 at a casino and was known to carry large amounts of cash, also fell victim to Bradley's alleged scheme. Court documents reveal that Bradley met with Blake at a hotel in Federal Way and told her that he needed help selling stolen gold. Bradley's wife informed detectives that Bradley and Blake left the hotel room together, but Bradley returned alone. He claimed that Blake had given him permission to borrow her car. Tragically, Blake's body was later discovered in a shallow grave at the park along with three human ribs found nearby, which were later matched by DNA to Maturin.

As the case against Richard Bradley Jr. continues to unfold, a GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help cover expenses for Brandi Blake's memorial service. The fundraiser, organized by Lisa Blake, describes Brandi as a kind and caring soul who will be deeply missed by her loved ones.

Bradley was initially charged in May 2021 with first-degree murder in Blake's death and has now been charged with multiple additional murders. He will face trial next month for the initial murder charge, and the proceedings for the other murder charges are yet to be determined.