Did Roy Harrell see Brad Bishop in Italy?

[XCalibur]

Originally Posted by Mike82

For a long time I was 100% convinced that his sighting was legitimate. Recently, I have conceded that while I still believe his story, it was likely a case of mistaken identity. I recently saw a photo on unsolved.com that is a doppelganger of my father's coworker and close to 100% of witnesses would finger him in a photo lineup. In fact, someone even commented that they saw the person in my hometown and reported it.

If I was in Italy and had someone yelling at me in a foreign language and running towards me in a confined space I would have probably taken off too. Given that Bishop was apparently a very smart man I would suspect he would have calmly said something like "no English" with an accompanying puzzled look.

If it was Bishop, he was likely caught completely off guard. I don't think its inconceivable he reacted that way out of surprise and shock.

Plus, this was the guy who murdered his whole family. He could very well have gone insane, maybe even committed suicide later, even if he didn't right away while he was still in the smokies.

I still say if Harrell is telling the truth, then It was him. Obviously its just speculation though we got no way to know for sure.

[TheCars1986]

Harrell wasn't the only person who alleged to have seen Bishop over in Italy. If this were just a homeless doppelganger for Bishop, who had been approached by others in the past asking if he was Bishop, I could see the surprised reaction from the man as a possibility.

[Mike82]

Originally Posted by XCalibur

If it was Bishop, he was likely caught completely off guard. I don't think its inconceivable he reacted that way out of surprise and shock.

For someone who is allegedly as smart and psychopathic as him, I highly doubt it. I know a few people who are capable (emphasis on capable) of murdering their family without a moment of guilt and they all have one thing in common: they are all excellent communicators and expert manipulators: these are the kind of people who are able to stab someone in front of group of cops and convince them they are the victim. This is not the reaction of someone who is highly skilled and has had plenty of time to plan going into hiding because he would have known that eventually someone from his life would have recognized him and planned accordingly.

If he is not a cold blooded psychopath and just killed in a fit of rage, I have no doubt he would have committed suicide once he fully understood what he did and if he didn't he would not survive long as a 'zombie' in the desert. The older I get the more I suspect this is what happened. I was skeptical because no body was found but there are multiple cases where it took years to find it. The first case that comes to mind was Phillip Kramar: he literally called 911 telling them he was going to kill himself, was not far from the USA's second biggest city and it took over 4 YEARS for his body and vehicle to be found!

[brando316]

From what I understand its not as much of a coincidence as it sounds. I don't remember where I read it but supposedly it was a place that both men had gone to several times for work so it's not so odd for Bishop to have moved there or for Harrell to have traveled there on a business trip. And also that Bishop has been spotted other places he traveled for work and was spotted by other former co workers.

[tsaun]

Originally Posted by TheCars1986

I don't think he did. I still believe that Bishop committed suicide somewhere along the Appalachian Trial shortly after dumping his car.

Kinda unrelated but I think that's what happened to Robert William Fisher too.

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by tsaun

Kinda unrelated but I think that's what happened to Robert William Fisher too.

Without a shadow of a doubt I think Fisher committed suicide and his body is yet to be uncovered in Tonto National Forest.

Bishop I'm not so sure about. Logically, suicide makes sense in the light of his mental health problems, and several people have disappeared from or in the Smokies without a trace. I wouldn't be particularly surprised if what's left of Bishop's remains are hidden beneath soil and layers of heavy underbrush, as Mike Riemer's were. Parts of the park are so steep and overgrown I am absolutely certain they haven't seen human footsteps in decades, if not a century. Sometimes I think his bones could be up there, just 40 minutes away from my house, and it kind of gives me the chills.

But Bishop's first attempt to hire a hit man, his perhaps pathological streak of competitiveness, his inclination toward Europe and ability to speak several of its languages give me pause and I just as well wouldn't be particularly surprised if he's buried in a pauper's grave somewhere in Italy, either.

I used to believe Harrell's account implicitly. I'm about 75% on it now. I'm not sure he made it up completely, but I wouldn't be shocked to learn that some of the details may have been remembered differently than what actually happened, or that they were flat-out embellished.

[ScaryFog]

I don't think it was Brad Bishop. Roy just got too close to the guy, and he panicked and ran because of Coronavirus social distancing.

[Imiss80stv]

My gut says yes he did. Common sense tells me that if it wasn't him, the person would have just said "No, you have the wrong person", and wouldn't have seemed so panicked.
Only reason I can think of as to why he would lie about it would be to help him cover it up, and make the investigators think he was in Italy when he wasn't. However, I didn't get that vibe from the segment. I think he really saw him.

[TheCars1986]

Originally Posted by tsaun

Kinda unrelated but I think that's what happened to Robert William Fisher too.

I agree with this.

With regards to Bishop, I'm not sure where he intended to go since he abandoned his car and took his dog with him. Had his car been found somewhere closer to "civilization", I think the odds that he took off would go up dramatically.

[spiraleyes]

You can watch an updated 2016 interview with Roy on a special Crime Watch Daily did in 2016. I think he tells the same story. I'm not sure if it was Bishop or not but I think Roy is being honest about seeing someone he believed was Bishop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gTX...TrueCrimeDaily

I wish this family annihilator would get caught every time I see a picture of his wife and three sons. If he isn't dead yet, he will likely die under his new identity and the mystery will never be solved.

[JC1957]

Wasn't there a confirmed sighting of Bishop along with some unknown woman buying a pair of tennis shoes that were paid for with his credit card at a store in North Carolina?

If so, that would be extremely odd for a guy who would soon be committing suicide in the Smokies.

[mozartpc27]

Originally Posted by Tighthead

I'm kind of 60/40 in favour of he did see him, but the doubt side is him making it up. I realize my opinion could charitably be described as logically complicated. I don't think it was a case of mistaken identity.

Please explain the "logically complicated" part...

[Tighthead]

Originally Posted by mozartpc27

Please explain the "logically complicated" part...

I think he saw him, or is making it up for the sake of attention. I don't think it is mistaken identity. Complicated may not be the best word - they are just polar opposite.

[dynoguy88]

Originally Posted by MegtheEgg86

I used to believe Harrell's account implicitly. I'm about 75% on it now. I'm not sure he made it up completely, but I wouldn't be shocked to learn that some of the details may have been remembered differently than what actually happened, or that they were flat-out embellished.

I may be repeating myself from the Bishop thread but I take the stance that anything Roy Harrell said should be taken with a grain of salt. Reading articles online, a few mentioned how investigators baited him into agreeing to outright lies regarding Bishop, felt like a real eye opener. I feel he got so caught up in the "celebrity" aspect of being the last one to see Bishop before the murders, that he reacted like you said; probably misremembering details or flat-out embellishing them.

I also have my doubts over Roy's statement in regards to Annette and Lobilia telling Bishop that he was "washed up" and "not going anywhere in his career," since every other account from people who knew the family would suggest they wouldn't DARE ever say that to his face.

[TheCars1986]

Originally Posted by dynoguy88

I also have my doubts over Roy's statement in regards to Annette and Lobilia telling Bishop that he was "washed up" and "not going anywhere in his career," since every other account from people who knew the family would suggest they wouldn't DARE ever say that to his face.

I too found that odd that he recounted that in his UM interview, considering these guys were nothing more than casual work associates. I find it hard to believe that Bishop would have told Harrell these things, and I think it was simply Harrell trying to pseudo-analyze Bishop's motive for the murders.