Bill Bradford: The serial killer who pretended to be a photographer
My Nightmare Stalker: The Eva LaRue StoryIn the shadows of 1980s Los Angeles, a man who appeared creative, well-dressed and ordinary, shockingly deceived over 50 women. Claiming to be a professional photographer, Bill Bradford told women, 'I can make you a model.'
However, William Richard Bradford was no photographer, and sadly, a few of these women wouldn’t get the chance to become models.
Join us at Crime+Investigation as we delve into the deceit of Bradford, and how he used the promise of a modelling career to lure young women. Explore his web of lies murder, manipulation and mystery.
Bill Bradford’s known victims
Bradford’s first known murders involved two victims in the summer of 1984. He met 21-year-old barmaid Shari Miller at the Meet Market bar in downtown Los Angeles, where she told him she aspired to model.
Bradford claimed to be a professional photographer, offered to take her photos and took her to a remote desert campsite north of L.A. There, he photographed her in several poses, then murdered her by strangulation, allegedly with her own bootlace.
After killing her, he mutilated her body. He cut off her tattoos and removed her blouse before dumping the corpse in a Hollywood alley. As she could not initially be identified, she became known as Jane Doe No. 60.
Shortly afterwards, he convinced 15-year-old neighbour Tracey Campbell that she also had modelling potential. He took her out to the same desert site, photographed her and brutally strangled her.
His fingerprints in the desert and the blouse Bradford used to cover Campbell’s face tied the murders together.
Discovery and arrest
Bradford came under suspicion when investigators identified him as the last person to see Campbell alive. They obtained a warrant for his apartment. Inside, they found Bradford’s collection of photographs - over 50 images of young women in modelling poses, many unidentified.
One of the photographs depicted a woman standing in front of a distinctive rock formation. Detectives recognised the scene from another photo of Miller’s body, which led to the desert site where Campbell’s remains were found.
But what truly turned the case into something far broader than two murders was the discovery of the photo trove. In July 2006, Los Angeles authorities officially released a compilation of 47 women from Bradford’s files, seeking public help in identifying them.
Among the thousands of photos was one showing Nika LaRue, the sister of actress Eva LaRue, allegedly number three in the released series. Eva LaRue later described the moment she realised her sister’s image was part of the cache:
'I got a phone call from my sister… and she got a phone call from a friend who said, "We are watching the news… there’s a picture that looks a little bit like you with this Bill Bradford."'
A killer’s admissions
In 1988, Bradford was tried for the murders of Miller and Campbell. He represented himself at one point, offered no defence evidence and sat in court while prosecutors laid out the case against him. The jury found him guilty of both murders, and he was sentenced to death.
At his sentencing, Bradford addressed the jury with chilling words:
'Think of how many you don’t even know about.'
Bradford died of natural causes at the prison medical facility in Vacaville, California, on 10th March 2008. His passing did not mean the case was closed. Instead, it underscored that many women in his photograph catalogue remained unidentified, and some may still be unaccounted for.
Unseen victims
The photos found in Bradford’s apartment have become one of the most haunting aspects of his crimes. They weren’t just snapshots, they were breadcrumbs leading to untold stories. Investigators believe most of the women were either preyed upon or murdered by Bradford. Others may have survived but remained untraced.
One of the identified women, number 28 on the poster, was later confirmed as Donnalee Campbell Duhamel, whose decapitated body was found in a canyon in Malibu in 1978. Investigators concluded she had met Bradford at a bar in Culver City shortly before her disappearance.
For the families of potential victims, those photographs represent decades of unanswered questions, lost loved ones and haunting questions.
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