Fugitive Update - Sculpture for the FBI
Case Study
Family Annihilator William Bradford Bishop, Jr.
These are assorted images of age progression work I have done in an effort to help locate murderer William Bradford Bishop, Jr. In March, 1976, Bishop brutally bludgeoned to death his mother, his wife and his three sons in Bethesda, Maryland…all because he wanted his freedom. In 2014, the FBI in Washington, D.C requested that I produce a sculpted bust of Bishop. Several years prior, I had created age-progressed sketches of him at the request of the US Marshals Service and America's Most Wanted. The FBI sought an even more current update of his projected appearance. In addition to depicting anatomical facial aging in the sculpted bust, I focused on the inclusion of facial expressions. The expressions were derived from accounts of Bishop's personality and from behavioral specialists' reports. On April 10, 2014, Bishop became the 502nd fugitive to be placed on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list, along with my sculpture.
Please keep a careful eye out for him…he could be anywhere…there's a $100,000.00 reward.
Bishop had a beautiful family. Pictured here are his wife, Annette, and two of his three sons. He bludgeoned them to death with a sledgehammer, the children while in their beds sleeping. He also murdered his mother, Lobelia, that day. The only survivor was the family dog, Leo, shown here.
The five murders occurred on March 1, 1976. He has been actively sought by law enforcement officials ever since. By all outward appearances, the Bishops were the perfect family. Bishop was a high school football star in California, educated at Yale University, and then worked for years at the U.S. State Department's Foreign Service. Bishop spent several years in overseas posts like Italy, Botswana and Ethiopia. He is known to be fluent in at least five languages: English, French, Serbo-Croatian, Italian and Spanish. He received a masters degree in history while living in Italy.
Since he was known to be charming, affable and arrogant, my early sketches of Bishop...done several years before the sculpted age progression…show what I believe to be that sort of expression. Subtle facial nuances include an asymmetrical thin-lipped grin and eye openings that may vary somewhat is size and shape. I believe that he would also have some very pronounced deep lines of age and expression at the sides of his nose, known as naso-labial furrows. There would likely be age spots all across his forehead since he spent a lot of time in the sun. Bishop was known to be an active person who kept himself in good shape physically, although he did have a bit of back trouble. He loved skiing, tennis, camping, riding motorcycles and had an interest in photography. At one point, he had a pilot's license. There are no certainties, but I think he might be a rather youthful and fit man today in his late 70s. Odds are very good that he would need glasses now that he is in his late 70s. Facial hair could be worn to help disguise his prominent projecting chin. He is 6'1" and weighed about 180 pounds in 1976. He has brown eyes and his brown hair is likely now heavily streaked with gray.
This is the uncolored clay version of my age progression sculpture of Bishop. I actually prefer it in this form artistically.
This view shows the sculpture in process showing multiple 60s and 70s era photos of Bishop used for reference. There are quite a few photos of him, though most are less than ideal for reference purposes. I selected the pose I wanted to use for the sculpture and pulled snippets of information from various photos as best I could. I also kept photos of his five victims on the upper right side of this display as I worked...as constant inspiration.
Here I am putting the final touches on the colorization of the Bishop bust.
Photo courtesy of Lisa Sheppard, Dreamfly Creations
These images show the various expressions I sought to incorporate in the sculpted age progression. With his strongly projecting chin held high, there is insight into Bishop's INTELLIGENCE. He could easily come across as academic, well-read and worldly...fluent in multiple languages. I have read everything I could get my hands on about Bishop. One particular factor comes to mind again and again and that is his great ARROGANCE. I can only imagine that his arrogance has grown with every passing year of being free, eluding police and escaping justice. As I developed the sculpture, I tried hard to incorporate that expression of arrogance. I can imagine him "looking down his nose" at others. He has been described as thinking he is "the smartest guy in the room". At times, he cuts his eyes to the side in a sort of wariness, maybe typical for a person so long on the run. When viewed from this angle, Bishop's DECEPTION can be seen. The final angle reveals Bishop's CONCEIT. His one-sided smirk shows his sense of superiority and even perhaps a bit of contempt for others. Layout courtesy of Lisa Sheppard, Dreamfly Creations.
Investigators are shown during the press conference on April 10, 2014 making the announcement that Bishop would be added to the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list. At the podium is FBI Assistant Director Ronald Hosko of the Criminal Investigation Division.
The Hunt with John Walsh on CNN developed an in-depth segment about the Bishop case. This ensured that many thousands of viewers had the opportunity to see the fugitive update sculpture, increasing the odds for his potential capture.
Amazingly, the sculpted face has even appeared in Times Square in New York! William Bradford Bishop, Jr. REALLY needs to be located...dead or alive.
