SC SC - Linda Bradberry, 35, Aiken, 11 Dec 1982

Aiken police were certain they could close the unsolved 1982 slaying of Linda Bradberry when they arrested five men, including her husband, for the supposed “murder for hire.” But the men were eventually let go, leaving the case unsolved more than 30 years later.

Linda Bradberry, 35, spent Saturday, Dec. 11, 1982, with her mother and son watching the Aiken Christmas parade in the rain... Bradberry dropped her 13-year-old son off at a church function at 7 p.m. She was supposed to pick him up, but she never returned...

It was Paul Quattlebaum who made the grisly discovery outside the old J.H. Quattlebaum’s Grocery on New Holland Road the next afternoon. After noticing a blue AMC Pacer that sat abandoned in the parking lot for several hours, he took a peek inside.

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On Dec. 12, 1982 -- Sunday afternoon about 2 p.m. -- Mrs. Bradberry, 35, was on her hands and knees on the front floor of her baby blue AMC Pacer, dead from a close-range shotgun blast to the back of the head. She was identified through dental records...

Christmas presents were inside the car. Mrs. Bradberry had $160 in her purse. Robbery and rape were ruled out as motives.

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Aiken jeweler found murdered was involved in 1982 cold case involving killing of his wife

A prominent Aiken jewelry store owner last week was found murdered in his home. Decades ago, he was suspected of killing his wife.

www.augustachronicle.com

• 1988: Harassing phone calls to an ex-wife
• 1989: Criminal domestic violence against his fourth wife
• 1994: Stalking an ex-wife''

dotr said:

A twist..
Jan 16 2024

Aiken jeweler found murdered was involved in 1982 cold case involving killing of his wife

A prominent Aiken jewelry store owner last week was found murdered in his home. Decades ago, he was suspected of killing his wife.

www.augustachronicle.com

View attachment 475114
''A well-known Aiken jewelry store owner who was charged more than 30 years ago in a murder-for-hire case that ran cold, last week was murdered by a 27-year-old Aiken man.
Swint E. "Porky" Bradberry Jr., 78, of Aiken, was found dead at the scene from blunt force injuries to the head, according to Aiken County Coroner Darryl Ables.
Aiken Department of Public Safety officers received a call for a possible burglary at a home on the 900 block of Brookhaven Drive in Aiken at 8 a.m. Tuesday, according to previous reporting. When officers arrived, they found Bradberry, former owner of Porky Bradberry Jewelry Store, dead inside a bedroom.''

''Bradberry, who had a criminal history of domestic violence and harassment, was initially charged in the unsolved 1982 slaying of his then-wife, Linda Bradberry.''

''The case was dismissed after witness statements and evidence did not align with Floyd's story. No other charges were ever brought and the case remains cold.

Porky Bradberry was arrested numerous times following the murder, including:

• 1988: Harassing phone calls to an ex-wife
• 1989: Criminal domestic violence against his fourth wife
• 1994: Stalking an ex-wife''

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• Court rules slain Aiken jeweler Porky Bradberry's funeral can happen as planned
• 
  
• Jan 13, 2024 By John Boyette
  

  

  Column: Porky Bradberry's life had many ups and downs

  Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.

  www.postandcourier.com

  ''Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.
  Such was the case this past week when Swint “Porky” Bradberry Jr. was killed in an apparent robbery attempt.''
• “I have maintained from the very beginning that I am innocent,” Bradberry told the Aiken Standard in 1988. “I do not kill pretty little girls that love me. I wish the gossipers and liars would leave me and my family alone.”
  
  
• ''According to arrest warrants, the suspect broke into the house and struck Bradberry in the head multiple times with an unidentified object. He left the crime scene with Bradberry’s orthotic shoes and his Member’s Only jacket that still had a dry cleaning receipt attached''