Police say Robert Bruso was killed weeks before his body was found outside his rural Maine home.

PALERMO, Maine — An unsealed court affidavit has added new detail to the murder case against Kirby G. Bradford, a Liberty man accused of killing 56-year-old Robert Bruso months before police found Bruso outside his Palermo home.

The case matters now because the affidavit, long sealed from public view, gives the first broad account of how investigators say a missing-person concern became a homicide case built around a planning note, a discarded cellphone, an alleged impersonation and a friendship that had lasted more than two decades.

Maine State Police first went to 128 Boots and Saddle Road at about 10:30 a.m. April 19, 2025, after friends and relatives reported they had been unable to reach Bruso for several weeks. Troopers found his body outside the residence. Detectives with the Major Crimes Unit Central treated the death as suspicious, and the Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta later ruled it a homicide. The discovery did not bring an immediate arrest. Police charged Bradford, then 58, on Sept. 18 while he was already being held at the Kennebec County Jail on unrelated charges. He made an initial court appearance the next day in Waldo County Superior Court.

Investigators now say Bruso may have been dead since about Feb. 8, 2025, more than two months before the welfare check. That date became important because a Kennebec County sheriff’s deputy responded to an automatic crash alert from Bruso’s phone the same day, according to the affidavit. The deputy found the phone on the roadside but found no crash. When the deputy later went to Bruso’s home to return it, he encountered a man described in court papers as scraggly. The man told the deputy to leave the phone and said he would make sure Bruso got it back. The next day, the deputy received a voicemail from someone claiming to be Bruso and saying he was ice fishing in Greenville.

Friends and family told police the ice-fishing claim did not sound like Bruso. Detectives later played the voicemail for two of Bradford’s former co-workers, who identified the voice as Bradford’s, according to the affidavit. Police also say Bradford gave other explanations as people worried about Bruso’s silence. About a month after the suspected killing, a childhood friend contacted Bradford on Facebook and asked whether he had seen Bruso. Bradford wrote back that Bruso had a girlfriend. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him actually into a chick like this,” Bradford wrote, according to the affidavit. When the friend said he hoped it worked out, Bradford responded, “I know right he deserves a good one lol.”

The affidavit says Bradford told detectives he was one of Bruso’s best friends. The two men had known each other for more than 20 years, and Bradford often worked on Bruso’s trucks. A close friend said Bradford had been doing auto-body work and had worked on Bruso’s vehicles as recently as January 2025. Investigators also described a possible financial motive. Bruso, a concrete contractor, was known by friends to keep large amounts of cash at his home. One friend told police Bruso sometimes had about $50,000 in cash to get through the winter. Bradford’s girlfriend told police he was addicted to crack cocaine, according to the affidavit.

Detectives said they found a note with a diagram of Bruso’s property in a workspace connected to Bradford. At an April court hearing, Assistant Attorney General Mark Rucci said the note included a reasonably detailed drawing and a list of things to get or actions to complete. Court filings say the list included “stun gun,” “zip ties,” “covid masks,” “take phone,” “bring him somewhere out of sight,” “duct tape over mouth” and “bag over his head.” Justice Patrick Larson granted the state’s request to collect a handwriting sample from Bradford for comparison with the note. Larson said whether that sample could be used as evidence would be decided later.

Police also searched Bradford’s truck and said they found a loaded sawed-off shotgun with the serial number ground off, wrapped in clothing. Investigators reported finding gloves with what appeared to be light-colored hair on the fingers. Bruso’s clothing had small holes consistent with bullet damage, according to court filings. The state has not publicly released every forensic finding in the case. Bruso’s golden retriever, Lenny, was missing when police found Bruso and had not been located when state police announced Bradford’s arrest. Police noted areas near Route 3, Boots and Saddle Road and Level Hill Road as places where the dog might have been seen.

The body’s location helped explain why the case remained hidden for weeks. Police said Bruso was found on top of a snowbank near the tree line by his driveway, outside the home but not immediately discovered until the welfare check. Investigators have not publicly said why no one found him earlier, and the affidavit leaves some questions unanswered, including the exact time of death and whether anyone else had contact with Bruso after Feb. 8. Court documents say Bradford’s alleged efforts after the killing were meant to delay discovery and steer concern away from Bruso’s home.

Bradford was indicted in November 2025 on a charge of knowing and intentional murder. In March 2026, he was indicted on a separate charge of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. He has pleaded not guilty. At an April hearing, Larson ruled that the murder count and the firearm-possession count would be tried separately after defense attorney Jeremy Pratt argued that trying them together could prejudice jurors. Prosecutors are expected to continue pursuing handwriting evidence tied to the note, while the defense can challenge whether that evidence is admissible.

Bradford has remained held without bail. Earlier court records show a Harnish bail hearing was discussed after his initial appearance because murder is treated under Maine law as a formerly capital offense for bail purposes. Pratt did not move forward with the hearing at that time but kept the right to raise it later. The case has since moved through status conferences, motions and separate indictments, with Justice Larson assigned to preside.

Bruso’s friends described a man whose sudden silence raised alarms. The affidavit says those concerns grew when no one could reach him, then deepened as explanations from others failed to match what they knew about his habits. The alleged girlfriend story, the Greenville voicemail and the lost phone are now central parts of the state’s account. Bradford’s defense has not been presented at trial, and the charges remain allegations unless proved in court.

No trial date has been publicly confirmed. The case now stands with Bradford facing separate trials on murder and firearm-possession charges, while prosecutors seek to connect the planning note, voice evidence, firearm evidence and timeline.

Author note: Last updated May 24, 2026.