'Bag over head': Man made detailed list before executing longtime friend, including 'stun gun' and 'zip ties,' police say

A 58-year-old antheral successful Maine is accused of murdering 1 of his champion friends, allegedly carrying retired a cautiously planned execution, past attempting to screen up the sidesplitting by impersonating the unfortunate and misleading his loved ones.

Kirby Bradford is presently facing 1 number of execution successful the slaying of 56-year-old Robert Bruso, whose body was discovered successful April 2025 extracurricular his location successful Palermo, Maine, records show.

According to a news release from Maine State Police, troopers were archetypal called to Bruso's spot connected Boots and Saddle Road connected April 19, 2025, for a payment cheque aft friends and household had been incapable to scope him for respective weeks.

Upon arriving, archetypal responders recovered his assemblage extracurricular the residence. Following a preliminary investigation, detectives said the "circumstances of the death" were "suspicious," and a consequent autopsy determined the mode of decease to beryllium homicide.

Following Bradford's apprehension successful September 2025, authorities remained tight-lipped astir details surrounding Bruso's alleged murder. Additional accusation was not disposable until a probable origin affidavit was unsealed past week, arsenic archetypal reported by the Bangor Daily News.

According to investigators, Bradford told detectives helium had been adjacent with Bruso for much than 2 decades and often worked connected his trucks. But authorities accidental grounds uncovered during the probe points to a calculated program to people the victim, who was known to support ample amounts of currency astatine his home.

During a hunt of a store wherever Bradford worked, detectives recovered what they described arsenic a diagram of Bruso's spot on with a database of items and instructions that appeared to outline a plan. The database work successful part: "stun gun, zip ties, covid masks, instrumentality phone, bring him determination retired of sight, duct portion implicit mouth, container implicit his head," according to tribunal filings cited by Bangor Daily.

Investigators judge the sidesplitting occurred connected oregon astir Feb. 8, 2025, the aforesaid time a Kennebec County sheriff's lawman responded to a clang notification sent automatically from Bruso's cellphone. The lawman recovered the telephone connected the broadside of the roadworthy but saw nary grounds of a crash, according to Bangor, Maine, Fox affiliate WFVX.

The lawman aboriginal went to Bruso's location to instrumentality the instrumentality and encountered a antheral described successful the affidavit arsenic a "scraggly guy" who told him to permission the telephone and said helium would marque definite it got backmost to Bruso. The pursuing day, the lawman received a voicemail from idiosyncratic claiming to beryllium Bruso, stating helium was crystal sportfishing successful Greenville — thing friends and household reportedly said was retired of character.

Police aboriginal played the voicemail for 2 of Bradford's erstwhile co-workers, who identified the dependable arsenic his, investigators said.

Authorities allege Bradford continued trying to mislead radical successful the weeks aft the killing. About a period later, erstwhile a person reached retired to inquire if helium had seen Bruso, Bradford responded that the unfortunate had a girlfriend.

"I don't deliberation I've ever seen him really into a chick similar this," Bradford wrote, per Portland, Maine, CBS affiliate WGME. "I cognize close helium deserves a bully 1 lol."

Bruso's assemblage was not discovered until astir 3 months aft investigators believed helium was murdered. Police said his remains were recovered connected apical of a snowbank adjacent the histrion enactment by his driveway, and his covering contained tiny holes accordant with slug damage.

During a hunt of Bradford's vehicle, detectives recovered a sawed-off shotgun with the serial fig crushed off, loaded with aggregate rounds and wrapped successful clothing, according to the affidavit. Investigators besides recovered gloves with what appeared to beryllium light-colored hairsbreadth connected them and noted that Bruso's aureate retriever went missing astatine the aforesaid clip that helium did.

The affidavit besides outlines a imaginable motive. Bradford's woman told constabulary helium struggled with ace cocaine addiction, portion Bruso, a factual contractor, was known to support ample sums of currency astatine his location — sometimes arsenic overmuch arsenic $50,000 — to "get him done the winter," friends told investigators.

Authorities accidental Bradford's actions aft the sidesplitting — including impersonating the victim, attempting to redirect interest from friends, and allegedly staging misleading accusation — were portion of an effort to hold detection and debar suspicion.

Bradford was indicted connected the execution complaint successful November 2025 and aboriginal indicted connected a abstracted number of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. He has pleaded not blameworthy and remains held without bail.

It was not instantly wide erstwhile Bradford was scheduled to marque his adjacent tribunal appearance.