Accused serial killer lured victims by asking them to help dig up buried gold, Washington state prosecutors say

A Washington state man in jail awaiting trial in one murder case has been charged with three more killings, and prosecutors say he lured all four victims by asking them to help dig up buried gold. The victims were carrying large amounts of cash or had recently come into a substantial amount of money, according to court documents.

Richard Bradley Jr., 40, was charged in May 2021 with first-degree murder in the death of 44-year-old Brandi Blake, whose body was found buried in a sprawling park in the town of Auburn, Washington. In the last two weeks, prosecutors have filed three more murder charges against Bradley, The Seattle Times reports, in the shooting deaths of a father and adult son in May 2021 and in the 2019 death of a man whose remains were found near Blake's grave.

Bradley's defense attorney, Peter Geisness, did not immediately return voice and email messages on Saturday. Bradley is scheduled to stand trial next month in Blake's death. He has not yet had the opportunity to enter a plea on the other murder charges, according to online court records.