Robert and Michael Bever
The Broken Arrow Killers
American Serial Killers
Crime Spree: July 22, 2015
Robert and Michael Bever were just kids, but they had a dream. They wanted to be remembered as famous serial killers. And they certainly got off to a real good start.
Authorities have labeled their “deed” the “worst single criminal event in Broken Arrow history.”
The Crime of Murder
19 year old Robert Bever, and his 16 year old brother Michael, started by killing five of their own family members. After stabbing their mother, they moved on to their father, 12 year old brother, their seven year old brother and their 5 year old sister. They systematically stabbed them all to death.
Their next intent was to chop off their 2 year old baby sister’s head with an ax.
From there it would be grand theft auto, (steal the family car), head to the nearest town and randomly kill as many people as they could.
Fortunately, the 12 boy year old was able to hit 911 before he died from the stab wounds that his older brothers had inflicted on him and thwarted their serial killing game plan.
Once arrested, and in custody, Robert spoke freely, and definitely without remorse, confessing that he and Michael had been planning the familicide since he was 13. Once they had murdered them all, they would then dismember the family’s dead bodies and store them in plastic bins in the attic.
And, according to Robert, the well laid plan would not stop there. They intended to go on a killing spree “that would rival Columbine.”
The Details Revealed
At around 11:30 p.m. on July 22, 2015 police were alerted to 709 Magnolia Court by a 911 call. That call was made by 12-year-old Daniel Bever, who stated his two older brothers were attacking the family. Screaming and commotion could be heard in the background before the line went dead. Dispatchers tracked the address by searching the number and hurried officers to the house.
When the first responding officers arrived, they noted blood around the porch of the house. They knocked on the door. Hearing a faint voice calling out for help, the officers forced their way into the house. They immediately found a 13-year-old girl, Crystal Bever, bleeding to death from multiple stab wounds.
After getting Crystal out of the house, the officers moved through the crime scene, quickly locating the bodies of five members of the Bever family. David, 52 and Danial, his 12 year old son, the child who had made the 911 call before being cut off, where found dead upstairs. Christopher, 7, and Victoria, 5, were found in a bathroom on the first floor. 44 year old April Bever’s body was found near a couch in the living room on the first floor. Each had been stabbed to death with a knife and/or a hatchet. A 2 year old was found unharmed in an upstairs room.
Robert and Michael Bever
Robert and Michael, both covered in blood, were quickly discovered hiding in some woods behind the house. They were immediately arrested on five counts of first-degree murder and one count of assault and battery with a deadly weapon.
Crystal Bever, the 13 year old first found, survived the brutal killings performed by her brothers but was critically injured from her wounds. She identified two of her brothers as the assailants in the familicide, saying that they lured her to a bedroom before slitting her throat and stabbing her in the stomach and arms.
When interviewed, neighbors said the parents home-schooled their children and kept a close eye on them, restricting them from mingling with neighbors or other children. The family’s lifestyle was reported to be so inconspicuous that some neighbors found out the full names of the entire family for the first time when the medical examiner released them. Neighbors also noted the strange and unsettling behaviors of Robert and Michael Bever.
The Confessions
Robert Bever confessed to committing the familicide. He claimed that he and his brother planned the act for some time and intended to commit a shooting spree outside the family, hoping it would rival and even outdo the 1999 Columbine High School massacre. He later confessed that he and his brother planned to dismember the bodies of their family, place them in storage bins, and hide them in the attic of their home. He also stated that they planned to steal the family car, shoot and kill five random people each at multiple locations, and eventually achieve a body count of at least 50 people. An officer, who interviewed Robert Bever, stated that Bever admired serial killers, hoped to strike in locations outside of Oklahoma, and wanted to achieve a body count of up to 500 people or more.
One of the brothers “spontaneously uttered” that plans for the killings were stored on a flash drive inside the home. This flash drive was later retrieved by police when they searched the home for a second time. They also recovered computer equipment and video surveillance cameras, which they believed recorded the familicide as they were located near where three of the victims’ bodies were found. It was later determined that the brothers planned to make two videos, one depicting the bodies of their family that would be shown to investigators and prosecutors, the other without the bodies that could be posted online.
Authorities have called the killings the “worst single criminal event in Broken Arrow history”. The brothers were charged with five counts of first-degree murder and one count of assault and battery with intent to kill.
The Sentencings
On July 25, authorities announced that Michael Bever would be charged as an adult. A conviction on first-degree murder carries the punishment of life imprisonment or the death penalty. However, the Tulsa County District Attorney stated that Michael Bever would be exempt from a death sentence since he was under the age of 18 at the time of the familicide. Bever’s attorney argued against the constitutionality of the decision to try Bever as an adult, stating that his client will die in prison and that it is the same as the death penalty. He also tried to argue that Bever should be rehabilitated instead of imprisoned if he was physically and emotionally abused at home, though no evidence indicated any abuse occurring in the Bever home.
Investigators looked into a shipment of boxes containing a total of 3,000 rounds of ammunition that was believed to have been delivered on July 23. They also began investigating social media accounts belonging to Robert Bever.
On July 6, 2016, it was reported that Robert Bever had attempted suicide by hanging with a bed sheet. Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Casey Roebuck said the suicide attempt, occurring earlier that year on June 17, was discovered by a detention officer during a routine security check. Medical staff cut him down and checked him, determining he was uninjured. He was then moved to suicide watch.
The Bever brothers were arraigned on August 3. They pleaded not guilty to the charges filed against them. A preliminary hearing was set for October 28. The date was later changed, several times, but eventually took place on February 23, 2016.
Robert Bever eventually pleaded guilty to all counts, in order to avoid a death sentence, and was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Michael Bever’s trial began on April 16, 2018, and on August 9, 2018 he was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Robert is currently housed in the Joseph Harp Correctional Center and Michael is in the Lexington Correctional Center.
Source: wikipedia
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