Suspect in Texas Girl's Attack Commits Suicide

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) - A suspect in the 1990 alleged abduction, rape and throat slashing of a Dickinson girl has been found hanged in his jail cell. Galveston County sheriff's Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo says 40-year-old Dennis Earl Bradford was found hanged early Monday in an apparent suicide. Tuttoilmondo says there were no signs of foul play and Bradford made a noose from bedding. DNA evidence led to the October 2009 arrest of Bradford in North Little Rock, Ark. Jennifer Schuett, who was 8 years old when she was attacked, says she is "shocked and disappointed" that Bradford resorted to suicide and she had wanted to face him in court.
The Associated Press does not normally name alleged sex abuse victims, but Schuett and authorities used her name in publicly discussing the case and she maintains a website.
For more on Jennifer's story, and how she helps other crime victims, visit Justice for Jennifer.
Copyright Associated Press

http://www.click2houston.com/video/22380827/

Here's an interview with the sketch artist who worked with the child right after she was found. The facial similarities between the sketch and Dennis Earl Bradford are remarkable.

The DNA in the case allegedly matched with this man. It would have been nice for both the victim and the accused to have the benefit of the use of the criminal justice system, but Mr. Bradford appears to have decided to take matters into his own hands. If he is the monster who hurt this woman when she was a child, and if he actually killed himself to escape justice, then he ranks at the top of the list of cowards in my book.

“Life moves on, whether we act as cowards or heroes. Life has no other discipline to impose, if we would but realize it, than to accept life unquestioningly. Everything we shut our eyes to, everything we run away from, everything we deny, denigrate or despise, serves to defeat us in the end. What seems nasty, painful, evil, can become a source of beauty, joy, and strength, if faced with an open mind. Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such.” -Henry Miller