A Missouri man has been identified as a suspect in the decades-old death of his wife, a case now being treated as a homicide more than 30 years later, while investigators also examine whether he may have been involved in the death of another woman: his first wife.
John Bridges told authorities on July 2, 1993, that he had found his wife, 45-year-old Astrid Bridges, unresponsive outside their home in Gresham, Oregon.
Although Gresham police viewed Astrid’s death as suspicious at the time, the medical examiner ruled it a tragic accident, according to KGW.
That determination changed last month, when the medical examiner’s office reviewed Astrid’s injuries and the evidence in the case and reclassified her death as a homicide.
Gresham police said Wednesday that Bridges, now 86, is considered a suspect in Astrid’s death, the outlet reported.
Detectives recently traveled to Bridges’ current residence in Barton County, Missouri, where they interviewed him and served a search warrant.
Investigators are also taking a fresh look at the July 5, 1972, death of Joyce ‘Mable’ Bridges, his first wife. She was pronounced dead after Bridges found her inside their home in Louisville, Kentucky.
On Friday, the Louisville Police Department asked for the public’s help, saying investigators want to speak with anyone who knew the family or may have information relevant to the case.
John Bridges, now 86, was named a suspect in the death July 1993 death of his ex-wife Astrid. Authorities are also probing his involvement in the July 1972 death of his first wife Joyce
45-year-old Astrid’s death was initially ruled a homicide. She was discovered dead unresponsive outside of the couple’s home in Gresham, Oregon
Gresham Police detective Adam Wright acknowledged that the current evidence ‘points pretty heavily’ to Bridges.
However, he noted that authorities were ‘not going to rush to judgement’ as they completed the investigation.
As of Sunday night, no charges had been announced against Bridges in either case.
When Astrid’s death was reclassified as a homicide, authorities did not release any further information as to why that determination had been made.
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However, the way that she was found dead in a home on Southwest Overlook Court has an eerie similarity to how Joyce had been found dead about 21 years prior in Louisville.
There was no initial police or EMS involvement in Joyce’s death, which was treated as an accident for decades, according to KOIN.
In 2015, Louisville police exhumed Joyce’s body. A subsequent autopsy ruled that her death was a homicide.
Law enforcement have not detailed what resulted in the exhumation.
Joyce ‘Mable’ Bridges also died after being found unresponsive by her husband, albeit inside their home in Louisville, Kentucky
The way Astrid died was found dead in a home on Southwest Overlook Court was similar to how Joyce had died about 21 years earlier
Gresham investigators said they had been in contact with Louisville detectives who were investigating Joyce’s death.
Police have not yet said whether Bridges is considered a suspect in Joyce’s homicide.
Pam Prettyman, a former neighbor of Astrid’s, said she recalled thinking that authorities ‘didn’t investigate further’ after her death.
‘To lose two wives, both in a mysterious kind of way, is a bit peculiar,’ Prettyman told KOIN.
Gresham resident Karla Barnhart, who lives in the same neighborhood as Bridges and his ex-wife once resided, said police needed ‘every little tidbit of information they can get to get justice for these women who’ve been killed.’
Barnhart said she had been suspicious when Astrid was found dead.
‘I’m so happy to hear someone’s finally going to investigate this,’ she told KGW.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the Gresham Police Department and the Louisville Metro Police Department for further comment.
