Husband named as suspect in cold case of wife who died more than 30 years ago as police probe a possible second slaying... his first wife

By WILKO MARTÍNEZ-CACHERO, US REPORTER Published: 05:28, 3 August 2026 | Updated: 05:41, 3 August 2026 A Missouri man was named as a suspect in the cold case of his ex–wife who died more than 30 years ago, as police look into whether he also played a role in the death of his first wife. On July 2, 1993, John Bridges reported that he found his wife Astrid Bridges, 45, unresponsive outside of their home in Gresham, Oregon. Police in Gresham considered Astrid's death suspicious but it was ruled as a tragic accident by the medical examiner, according to KGW. However, that changed last month, when the medical examiner's office reclassified the death as a homicide after reviewing Astrid's injuries and the evidence surrounding her case. On Wednesday, Gresham police said that Bridges, now 86, was a suspect in Astrid's death, according to the outlet. Detectives from the police department had recently traveled to Bridges' current home in Barton County, Missouri, to interview him and serve a search warrant. Additionally, authorities are probing the July 5, 1972 death of Joyce 'Mable' Bridges, his first wife. She was declared dead after being found unresponsive by her husband inside their Louisville, Kentucky, home. The Louisville Police Department asked the public for help in the case on Friday, adding that law enforcement is seeking to interview anyone who knew the family or had relevant information. John Bridges, now 86, was named a suspect in the death July 1993 death of his ex-wife Astrid. Authorities are also probing his involvement in the July 1972 death of his first wife Joyce 45-year-old Astrid's death was initially ruled a homicide. She was discovered dead unresponsive outside of the couple's home in Gresham, Oregon Gresham Police detective Adam Wright acknowledged that the current evidence 'points pretty heavily' to Bridges. However, he noted that authorities were 'not going to rush to judgement' as they completed the investigation. As of Sunday night, no charges had been announced against Bridges in either case. When Astrid's death was reclassified as a homicide, authorities did not release any further information as to why that determination had been made. However, the way that she was found dead in a home on Southwest Overlook Court has an eerie similarity to how Joyce had been found dead about 21 years prior in Louisville. There was no initial police or EMS involvement in Joyce's death, which was treated as an accident for decades, according to KOIN. In 2015, Louisville police exhumed Joyce's body. A subsequent autopsy ruled that her death was a homicide. Law enforcement have not detailed what resulted in the exhumation. Joyce 'Mable' Bridges also died after being found unresponsive by her husband, albeit inside their home in Louisville, Kentucky The way Astrid died was found dead in a home on Southwest Overlook Court was similar to how Joyce had died about 21 years earlier Gresham investigators said they had been in contact with Louisville detectives who were investigating Joyce's death. Police have not yet said whether Bridges is considered a suspect in Joyce's homicide. Pam Prettyman, a former neighbor of Astrid's, said she recalled thinking that authorities 'didn't investigate further' after her death. 'To lose two wives, both in a mysterious kind of way, is a bit peculiar,' Prettyman told KOIN. Gresham resident Karla Barnhart, who lives in the same neighborhood as Bridges and his ex-wife once resided, said police needed 'every little tidbit of information they can get to get justice for these women who've been killed.' Barnhart said she had been suspicious when Astrid was found dead. 'I'm so happy to hear someone's finally going to investigate this,' she told KGW. The Daily Mail has reached out to the Gresham Police Department and the Louisville Metro Police Department for further comment.