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I'm your host Marc.
And I'm Courtney.
And this is Mountain State Mysteries.
The case we have for you today is about a 78 year old cattle rancher from Sismville,
West Virginia.
This is the story of Cleo Bredette.
Cleo never married and he didn't have any children.
He lived in the family homestead in Sismville on Ciceroen Road.
According to Cleo's niece, her uncle was a master of his trade, a well-known farmer,
quote, that was his life, end quote.
Cleo's love of farming horses and raising cattle, quote, he did a wonderful job at it
and he usually got top dollar for his cattle at market, end quote.
On August 12, 2004, Cleo went to a cattle auction to sell some of his cattle.
What happened on the day of August 13 is unclear due to the lack of articles on Cleo.
On August 13, 2004, 78 year old Cleo Bredette was found murdered in his home by his sister,
Gwen Wines.
Cleo's home had been ransacked, windows broken, and the telephone line cut.
Due to this being an ongoing investigation, we sadly do not have many details about this
case.
In an article from August 14, 2004, it says the Canal County Sheriff's Department is
investigating the discovery of a dead body early Friday morning.
Sheriff's deputies discovered the body of a man in his 70s around 9.30 am.
After a family member who discovered the body called 911, said Lieutenant J.S.
Bales, spokesman for the Canal County Sheriff's Department, quote, we are treating it as suspicious
circumstances, Bales said.
Bales would not comment on how the man died pending an autopsy.
Deputies reported the man's home smelled strongly of natural gas.
A Canal County dispatcher said deputies remained at the scene throughout the day, investigating
the incident.
The man's name and address were not available Friday, end quote.
To me, it sounds like the murderer or murderers tried to use gas in hope that it may catch
fire and start a house fire to hide potential evidence.
Cleo's sister said in an interview with WCHS TV, quote, everybody was shocked to death.
When this happened, that was the biggest shock that had ever happened to the community,
end quote.
Her family said she eventually moved out of state, partially due to the pain and fear
she felt over her brother's death.
What we do know about this case is that Gwen went to check on her brother on the morning
of August 13 after not being able to reach him after he left her home for dinner the
previous evening.
Her family said that Cleo would always call her to let her know he was home.
Loretta Scherke, Cleo's niece said, quote, it traumatized her, end quote.
Gwen and Loretta used to talk about it.
And she said, quote, it was a constant on her mind.
She couldn't understand why they couldn't find out who did it, why they couldn't make
an arrest, why they couldn't do something that was conclusive, end quote.
Loretta said that she painfully remembers the day that changed her family forever.
Her uncle had been tied up, beaten, and forced to drink weed killer.
The Nod County Sheriff's Office detective Lieutenant Dean Snuffer said it was an apparent
from the condition of the home that whomever was there was in search of something.
Quote, it appeared to us that somebody has really ransacked the house, went through everything.
It looked to us like they were looking for something.
Investigators would soon find out that Cleo had received a large sum of money the previous
day from the cattle sale.
Quote, he had gone to market the day before and sold a bunch of cattle.
Some may must have been at the market.
Seeing him with all the cash, knew he lived alone, knew his house was isolated.
He would be an easy target, end quote.
Quote, some individuals in the area that live here and went to church in the area, they came
forward and said they spotted what appeared to be, they thought, a reddish colored Toyota
that had been parked near Mr. Bradette's house, end quote.
In another article from August 18, 2004, it said Bales had labeled the incident as suspicious
and said detectives are treating it as a homicide, at least until the medical examiner gives
them a case of death.
There were some abrasions on Bradette's body, but no sign of a gunshot wound or other contusions.
Bradette's home was, quote, in a state of disarray, end quote, Bales said, though investigators
could find no sign of force entry.
During my research in a few different articles, I saw quotes of people saying that the house
didn't have force entry.
This had me wondering if Cleo knew who the murderer or murderers were.
If so, they knew that cash would be in the house, however, it wasn't there.
Loretta said, quote, I don't think the day he thought he had a chance to go to the bank,
but I guess he immediately went to the bank the next morning.
In November of 2004, Gwen told Eyewitness News that, quote, I hope I get to look them
in the eye and ask why they did it, end quote.
Sadly, she never got the chance.
In 2019, she passed away not knowing what happened to her brother.
Snuffer said, quote, Mr. Bradette's case.
We still get information on it frequently, and we follow it up until that lead is exhausted.
Somebody out there has to know something.
There was somebody at Mr. Bradette's house.
We want them to know that he has a family.
They did care for him, and they want to know what happened.
We want anybody with information, no matter how small they think it is or how irrelevant
they might think it is to call us.
Because that could be the last piece in this case that we need to solve, end quote.
For Loretta and her family, it's just a matter of dignity and justice.
Loretta said, quote, if you can beat, torture someone, kill them in the manner, you should
be human enough just to come forward.
And if you're not the person or persons who did it, then if you know something, you should
do it.
The family, they deserve it after all these years, end quote.
After 19 years of unanswered questions, investigators remain hopeful that this case could be solved.
Snuffer said they have had suspects in the case.
Some have been cleared.
He said, but there are others they are still looking at.
They are asking for anyone who may have any information to call 304-357-0169.
You can also email them at tips at canal sheriffs.us or submit a tip on their website.
Courtney, do you have any thoughts on this case?
I just felt like any of our other cases.
You have a family out here that deserves justice to know what happened to their loved one and
for someone to be prosecuted for the crimes that they have enforced, that they have done.
There's a lot of things with this case, like any of our other cases that just do not make
any type of sense whatsoever.
And I wish that there was more info about this case out there, but of course, being
a ongoing investigation, there's a lot of stuff that they just can't provide to us and
everything.
I mean, do I feel it could be somebody he knew?
I kind of do, you know?
I really honestly kind of do.
I mean, I just hope in the long run that they finally get answers and one day this family
will get justice.
Mark, do you have any questions?
Any final thoughts?
I just want to know if they tracked down the red Toyota that everyone said they saw that
day.
If the people knew that he had the money, they would have either knew him personally,
knew he was at the cattle sale, or they could have been at the cattle sale and really followed
him home and away and just watched him.
But somehow missed him going to the bank on the way home.
I feel awful for his sister having to walk in and see that and just how it still impacts
the family to this day.
The interview I saw with his niece, like you could tell it still bothers her and affects
her.
This isn't just something that stops affecting the family after all these years.
Yeah, the pain just amplifies over time.
I just, I hate that the family still to this day does not have answers.
Stay tuned for our next episode where we will tell you the story of a 16 year old girl who
had her entire life ahead of her.
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