In 2007, twenty-eight-year-old Crystal Bradshaw was killed in her Boiling Springs, South Carolina, home. On the night of the murder, an unknown figure was observed in the home’s carport. This individual left the scene before police arrived.
The 28-year-old mother had just bought a house on Northbrook Street off of Highway 9 in Boiling Springs. She and her husband had been apart for a few months. She was attending school at Spartanburg Community College and working as a server at the Peach Blossom restaurant. According to William Gary, the department’s cold case investigator, Bradshaw had a drug history but had been sober for some time.
On June 3, 2007, Bradshaw’s body was discovered in her burned-out house. Gary stated that she most likely passed away from blunt force injuries a few hours before the fire was detected. Police believed she knew her killer since there was no sign of forced entry and those who knew her claimed she wouldn’t have unlocked the door for strangers. Both Bradshaw’s lover and her divorced husband have been exonerated. Although at least a dozen people have been questioned, Gary is very interested in speaking with one man in particular.
Following the report of the fire, the neighbors gathered outdoors. They remember seeing this weird guy. When deputies arrived—the first emergency responders—the guy vanished. According to witnesses, the man made an attempt to bar anyone from entering the home. Gary claimed that the probe is not centered on any of Bradshaw’s coworkers. Additionally, he cleared a few individuals who boasted about the case.
According to Gary, Bradshaw only knows one person in his life who has experience with firefighting, and that person is not entirely forthcoming with the investigators. Gary claimed to stay current with developments in crime scene technology. Gary said that the murderer may be hidden in a two-inch binder full of notes, much like all the cold cases that occupy the filing cabinets arranged along one and a half walls in his office.
There is a composite drawing of this individual. Anyone with information can contact TBrown at TBrown@SpartanburgCounty.org or call the Sheriff’s Office at 864-503-4556.
