Crime Scene Photos:
Robert's Drawings:
Other Case Photos:
BEVER MURDERS - Familicide
Victims
Five people were killed in the familicide, and one other person was injured. A medical examiner determined that the common cause of death was "multiple sharp force injuries". Autopsies revealed the victims died between the late hours of July 22 and the early hours of July 23. The victims were identified as: 12 in blade used by Robert “was red and just like mine,” Michael said. Plan was to use a crossbow but didn't go down that way. Some names have been changed for victims privacy.
Killed
David Bever, 52 (father; killed by at least 28 stab wounds to the torso, face, neck, and left arm and hand)
April Bever, 44 (mother; killed by blunt-force trauma and at least 48 stab wounds to the head, neck, torso, and arms and hands)
Daniel Bever, 12 (son; killed by nine stab wounds to the back, shoulder, and chest)
Christopher Bever, 7 (son; killed by six stab wounds to the back, chest, shoulder, and lower leg)
Victoria Bever, 5 (daughter; killed by 18 stab wounds to both sides of the neck, her chest, back, and upper arm)
Injured- Jade Bever, 13 (daughter; injured by a slit throat and stab wounds to the stomach and arms)
Unharmed- Summer Bever, 2 (daughter; sleeping in room)
Detectives on scene: Eric Bentz (also interviewed Michael after the murders), Brett Burton Jackie Smithson-Crime Scene Investigator
EVENTS:
Around 11pm, July 22nd, 2015: April and Jade are sitting on the couch watching TV. The rest of the family are in their rooms sleeping. Michael is tasked with going downstairs and retrieving Jade and taking her back upstairs to the brothers room. Michael leads Jade over to his computer and begins showing her something in order to distract her from the attack made by Robert, who comes up behind her and, so he thought, slits her throat. She was suppose to die quietly so they could move along and kill the others quietly, but that didn't go according to plan, as Robert failed to kill her.
Jade begins fighting back. She is screaming and kicking at the brothers, which draws the attention on mom April. Mom shows up in the doorway and Robert attacks her. Michael also took a stab at April in the back. April is able to somehow make it downstairs before She suffers 48 stab wounds between the two brothers to her back, chest, neck, and upper arm and finally dies. She was also hit over the head at some point as autopsy shows blunt-force trauma.
Jade escapes down the stairs and out the front door. She collapses in the front yard.
Daniel, 12, comes out of his downstairs room to see what all the commotion is. He sees Robert standing there with a knife and Robert immediately tries to attack, slashing Daniels arm open. Daniel retreats back into his room and locks the door.
Michael pleads with Daniel to open the door and let him in. He says that Robert is trying to kill him, too.
Daniel uses an old cell phone that was not in service to place a 911 call. While on the phone with Dispatch, Daniel opens the doors for Michael. Both brothers enter the room.
At 11:30p.m. on July 22, 2015 police were alerted to 709 Magnolia Court by a 9-1-1 phone call made by Daniel Bever, who stated his brother was attacking the family. Screaming, commotion, and a male voice were heard in the background as well as Daniel saying “Please, Michael, NO!” before the line went dead. Dispatchers tracked the address by searching the number. After a failed attempt to call David Bever, the father, they dispatched officers to the scene.
The brothers attack Daniel, leaving him deceased with 9 stab wounds to the back shoulder, chest.
Christopher, 7, and Victoria, 5, had ran down the hallway and locked themselves in the bathroom. Michael tricks them the same way he had tricked Daniel, pleading with them to let him in. Robert and Michael both enter and attack them. Christopher is killed by six stab wounds to the back, chest, shoulder, and lower leg. Victoria is killed by 18 stab wounds to both sides of the neck, her chest, back, and upper arm.
David, dad, was upstairs still asleep during all of this. He finally woke up and made his way downstairs and into the kitchen. The brothers hear dad coming. Dad says something to Robert and Robert immediately stabs him. He dies by at least 28 stab wounds to the torso, face, neck, and left arm and hand.
The 13 year old, Jade, who was attacked first, is out in the front lawn still. Robert realizes she is outside and alive. He rushes out to finish her off and attempts to strangle and asphyxiate her. He believes he succeeds and heads back inside the house. He then tells Michael to go outside and bring her body in so no one will see her while Robert prepares to head upstairs and kill the baby. Michael does so, pulling her back inside, just next to the front door.
11:34 PM Detective Brett Burton heads to location and two patrol officers arrive on scene. They notice blood all over the sidewalk out front of the house leading to the front step, where there was blood as well. Burton arrives on scene to see the two officers outside the front door and he joins them.
They knock on the door several times with no answer. The brothers, before heading upstairs for the baby, hear the knocking on the door. They grab some gear and head out the back door into the wooded area behind their house.
Officers, still knocking, Finally hear a faint “help me” from inside. Det. Burton makes the decision to go ahead and enter the home to render aid. They proceed to kick the door in and Burton spots a teenage girl laying in the floor. She was badly injured. She tells them that her two brothers attacked her. Burton says that he could tell that she was had internal bleeding and fluid in her lungs by the way she spoke. They went ahead and removed her from the house taking her outside to the paramedics. They said they didn't know how she survived.
More officers arrive on scene and start a methodical room by room search. They find blood everywhere. Literally every room was absolutely drenched from top the bottom in it. They come across April first, then Daniel is found. Both Stabbed to death.
They come across Dad next in the kitchen. Deceased from severe stab wounds.
They come to a hallway, go down and come to a closed bathroom door. It's locked. An officer kicks in the bathroom door expecting to find the suspects, but instead find 2 young children stabbed to death.
They go upstairs to the second floor. Blood covers the entire residence. They come to room with a crib inside and expect the worst, but low and behold, there's a 2 year old sleeping quietly in the crib unharmed. There was a birthday cake for her in the fridge.
They finish the search of the house and find the backdoor ajar. The call in for a K9 unit and the dogs take off down a path into the woods behind the house. They come across discarded pieces of body armor covered in blood. The officers though they may be ambushed. In these situations, you don't know what suspects you are lookin for, let alone what those suspects have gotten ahold of. Is there traps set? Is there a bomb? They knew they were probably still in the area for how fresh the crime scene was, so they continued on. 10 minutes the K9 located them and officers held them at gunpoint and commanded them to show their hands. Robert listens, but Micheal does not and they release the K9 and he complies.
They document the scene to show the state they are in when they are arrested. They are both covered in blood and dirt. Robert is wearing body armor covered in blood under a black shirt. He is armed with a knife. Michael had discarded his armor, and had rips and tears in his clothing from the k9. Robert is smiling in the photos.
The brothers didn't seem upset. The officers said they even seemed cocky. One of the brothers even said “it's not like it is on TV... it's not just one cut and they die.” As the cops are walking the brothers to the patrol cars, they separate the two and Robert looks over at this brother and says “It's been a pleasure and I'm proud of what I've done.”
They take the brothers into custody and start the interview process with Robert. Michael is taken to the hospital and treated for his wounds, then interviewed as well.
HERE'S WHERE YOU CAN STOP AND WATCH THE REAL INTERVIEW WITH MICHEAL AT:
May 18, 2018: Evidence released to the public: https://ktul.com/news/local/evidence-related-to-bever-family-murders-released-after-michael-bevers-conviction (Tulsa channel 8)
Here is where you can watch 3 separate 30 minute interviews with Michael Bever about what happened the night of the murders by investigators. Roberts taped interview has been sealed by a court order.
One of the brothers said 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. 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.
Michael initially claimed that he never killed anyone, that Robert had down it all and that if Michael hadn't gone along with him he would have been killed as well. He later (in the same interview) confessed to killing a few of his family members including the two small children in the bathroom. Michael said they planned out the whole thing and each brother was responsible for killing certain members of the family. He was suppose to kill Victoria and Dad, as well as Jade. Robert would kill the others quietly with a crossbow. But once they started with Jade, things got out of control and they ended up having to use their 12 in blades instead.
MICHAEL BEVERS STATEMENT: It's hard to read in his handwriting so it's transcribed here. There are so many spelling and grammar errors, it was hard to transcribe. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I2C5pMj4AgcQfuxzldchvw3PRTinmVZJ/view
“The first day of planning was on June 30th 2015 when Robert found out that he could buy weapons (without a license) and he told me his plan to kill everyone in our house and then go on a killing spree through the US . I thought it was a great idea and I agreed to join him the plan was to first at around 12 AM to put on our gear and Robert would kill April bever and then I would kill Jade and Victoria then go upstairs and both killed David bevor and the baby then go downstairs and Robert would kill Daniel and Percy (it says Persy or Perry, but Christopher is the only unnamed child, so I believe this is Christopher) then wait a couple of days and leave the state and begin the spree.
What actually happened that night at around 12 AM we invited Jade into our room and I distracted her with my laptop. Robert went up behind her and cut her throat. she started screaming and fell to the ground. well Robert kept stabbing her in the throat then a couple seconds later April came in and started yelling “call the police” and “Robert what are you doing” then he went over and stabbed April in the neck. then Jade ran out of the room yelling and went outside and landed in the driveway. Robert followed and dragged her back to the bench in the front lawn Robert then went inside and started Attacking mom and then the little kids in the backroom and then he asked me to go get Jade. I then went out the front door and pulled her inside. just before he asked me to get Jade, David (Dad) came down and Robert cut and killed him. Then, Daniel and Percy locked themself in the bathroom and I begged them to let me in and they did. I went into the bathroom where Percy was and I stabbed him in the neck, then I went into the living room where Robert had chased down David and killed him. As Jade screamed, we heard a knock on the front door so we went to the back door and went into the woods where we were arrested.”
Jade Bever survived the killings, but was critically injured from her wounds. She identified two of her brothers as the assailants in the familicide. She underwent surgery at a nearby hospital and was listed as in serious but stable condition. A two-year-old girl was also found alive and unharmed inside the house. The surviving children were put in state custody.
Knives, hatchets, and other bladed weapons were found at the scene, along with protective gear. Law enforcement officials claimed at least some of the weapons found were used in the killings.
Legal proceedings
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. Authorities announced that Michael Bever would be charged as an adult. The age to charge for an adult in Oklahoma is 16 and like we say in DnD, “meets it, beats it.”
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.
Defense attorneys stated that David Bever was physically and verbally abusive towards his children, according to Jade Bever's testimony.Robert Bever claimed that both of his parents were hateful and abusive to him and all of his siblings.
The brothers were arraigned in court 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 and settled on February 23, 2016.
Prosecutors didn't want to put Jade through two trials, and per her request, they removed the possibility of the death penalty for Robert if he would be given a life sentence. This way, she wouldn't have to testify at the trial.
Robert is offered 5 life sentences Without parole in order the avoid the death sentence and he takes it. Robert Bever changes his plea to guilty to all counts, doesn't go to trial, and is sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
They are grateful thinking that they avoided putting Jade on the stand, but Michael refuses the same offer, therefore, Jade will have to testify at Michael's hearing.
Initially, the defense wants to seek an insanity defense, but after a mental health evaluation, he is deemed fit to stand trial, and the defense doesn't have enough evidence to prove an insanity plea. They also tried to get his confession thrown out and get him tried as a juvenile. They are all denied.
April 16, 2018 - Almost a full year after Robert's guilty plea, Michael's trial begins.
At the trial that lasted 6 weeks, they listened to testimony from just about anyone who was involved in the case, but the most bizarre thing onlookers witnessed was when they put Robert himself on the stand. He was seen smiling during his testimony, and throughout the trial he can be seen doing the same, as well as giggling and cutting up. He seemed to have absolutely no remorse or even a care that his family members were all dead. He also gives a very different statement than in his confession. He says in his confession that Michael helped but on the stand he says he did everything himself.
During Jade's testimony, she had to tell her story in front of her brother who did this to her. The attorney's ask her questions and she answers, she doesn't speak freely. She's basically a nervous wreck.
August 9, 2018 - The jury deliberates for two hours and comes back to deliver the news with tear-filled eyes. They had basically been crying the entire trial and during their time deliberating. Lori Fullbright from Tulsa's News on 6 says “I have never seen a jury crying this hard when they come back from their deliberations.”
Michael Bever was sentenced to 5 consecutive life sentences with the possibility of parole. Robert is currently housed in the Joseph Harp Correctional Center and Michael is in the Lexington Correctional Center. They were not allowed to be housed in the same prison because they were co-conspirators to a crime.
On August 5, Tulsa County Judge Bill Musseman ruled that documents concerning the case be made public and They were released the next day, redacted to protect the victims' identities and sensitive information.
AFTERMATH:
*Neighbors said the mother home-schooled their children and the parents kept a close eye on them, disallowing them from mingling with neighbors or other children. They also said that they didn't see the Bevers very often, that they seemed to be very closed off from the rest of the world. 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. Beale Bernson, a neighbor, told Oxygen that they never bothered each other and that's how he liked it.
*They also tried to keep the internet away from the children for a long time, but eventually gave in, which would allow the oldest boys to find a new passion... learning to be a murderer and “following the greats”... the parents reportedly didn't oversee too much of what the kids took in while they were on the internet, which is odd as they were pretty overbearing in all other aspects of the kids lives. The boys became big fans of school shooters and the notoriety they received.
They, in a way, romanticized and admired these murderers. When 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 wanted to achieve a body count of up to 100 people or more.
They also became obsessed with guns, knives, and body armor. 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. Michael had stated that Robert had purchased guns and had left them in storage at the pawn shop where they were purchased, but had sent the ammunition to the house. This may have prompted the killings as they happened a few days before the ammunition was supposed to arrive. Michael later stated that the plan was to kill the family, wait on the ammo to be delivered and then start their spree.
The brothers had said that they wanted to be known well enough to have their own Wikipedia page. Is it weird that that's where most of this info and sources comes from?
The brother's favorite movie was called Rampage. Never seen it, but apparently about killing people who were not contributing to society and dwindling down on an overpopulated world and that became their mantra.
*At first glance Robert seemed like your average 18 years old. He had a youtube channel with a couple of videos uploaded where he would talk about Minecraft or computer stuff. He even plays around with Michael in one of them. (ColtEmpire) He had a job at MicTech in the summer of 2014 that was a religious call center. Basically people would call in and he would pray with them. This is where he made enough money to buy all the riot gear, body armor, knives, guns and ammo. Off of peoples prayers. I'm not religious, but this is a pretty evil thing to do.
No one knew about any other this save for the brother and... the oldest sister. She was uncomfortable with the fact that they had started collecting all of this and told her parents. They weren't too concerned and attributed the fascination to “boys will be boys”... BOYS WILL BE WHAT YOU TEACH THEM TO BE.
*Michael's interests were similar to Robert's. They were apparent best friends.
MICHAEL'S JAILHOUSE JOURNAL: “once upon a time there were two brothers named Michael and Robert.....They hated their family.... So they killed them... The End.” With photos (can be found at http://ktul.com/news/local/pictures-of-michael-bevers-jailhouse-journal)
-Other entries include things like “Hail Satan” and “White Power” with a swastika, “James Holmes, My Hero,” depictions (drawings) of forest fires and mushroom clouds, guillotine being used, “Jim Jones, My Hero,”....
Robert Tries to hang himself July 16th 2016:https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/crimewatch/robert-bever-attempted-to-hang-himself-in-tulsa-jail-cell/article_81ea99bc-e9f5-5ee8-855b-740760c10727.html
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 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 HOUSE
The home was somewhat of an eye sore to the Bever's neighbors after the murders. It was very much like the Amityville house, just sitting there, looking all evil, holding all that negative juju, bad vibes, and horror stories. It became somewhat of a tourist attraction, and neighbors had to hire private security to keep people from visiting it and peering or even attempting to go inside. I'M GUILTY. I didn't have the gumption to trespass and go in, but we did drive by and check it out from the street. It even looks very similar to the Amityville house. Even the color. The Amity house was blue at the time of the murders. Some of the ages of the victims match. There was even a dog found at the home in the aftermath.
March 18, 2017. About a year after the murders, the Bever home was subject to a fire that engulfed the entire house. It didn't burn to the ground. It still stood, but authorities suspected arson, although it didn't seem like they really looked to much into it, and I don't blame them.
In mid-February 2017, Broken Arrow's city council announced a plan to raise money through the Tulsa Community Foundation for the acquisition of the Bever family home. They hope that enough money could be raised to purchase the house from the Bevers' mortgage holder and lending company. If enough funds were raised, the home was planned to be torn down and, in its place, a memorial park and garden, titled "The Bever Family-First Responders Memorial Park", created. They eventually did raise enough money and did just that.
On March 27, 2019, Reflection Park was dedicated in an official ceremony. A path meanders through a knoll of grass where the Bever house once stood.
Was featured on Killer Siblings on the Oxygen Channel. https://www.oxygen.com/killer-siblings/crime-news/robert-michael-bevers-stab-family-broken-arrow-crystal
SOURCES/REFERENCES: There are just too many to name here. You can see a list of the sources we used on the wiki page as we used the same sources unless we specifically name a source on here on the show today.
Oklahoma 911 Managers/Directors List: https://www.ok.gov/911/documents/Aug%2019%20PSAP%20Contact%20List.pdf
Oklahoma Open Records Act allows anyone to (for a fee) to get a recording or transcript of his or her own 911 call. No indication of unusual rules or restrictions.
Title 51, Section 24A.5 states that “all records” of a public body “shall be open to any person for inspection, copying, or mechanical reproduction during regular business hours” unless otherwise provided. In other words, all records, including audio records, are open records unless an exception applies - requiring law enforcement bodies to make available facts concerning the arrest, conviction information, disposition of all warrants, criminal summaries, and jail registers.
911 tapes are public records under the Act. 51 O.S. § 24A.8.A.4.
Police incident reports are public record. 51 O.S. § 24A.8.A.
911 Terminology:https://www.ok.gov/911/Resources/9-1-1_Terminology/index.html
9-1-1
A designated easy-to-remember, easy-to-dial three-digit emergency telephone number developed to provide citizens a reliable, fast and convenient way to access fire, police, or medical service providers in the event of an emergency.
ALI
Automatic Location Identification – The feature that provides the caller’s name and address on a computer monitor at the PSAP.
ANI
Automatic Number Identification – The feature that provides the caller’s telephone number on a console at the PSAP.
DATABASE
The information accompanying a 9-1-1 call at the PSAP. The information provided is the caller’s name, address and telephone number, as well as the emergency service providers designated to respond to the caller’s address Public Safety Telecommunicator The individual answering the 9-1-1 call; trained to communicate with persons seeking emergency assistance and with agencies and individuals providing such assistance.
E9-1-1
Enhanced 9-1-1 designed to automatically route any 9-1-1 call, placed from a telephone instrument (including wireless) within the district’s geographical boundaries, to the proper public safety answering point (PSAP) responsible for dispatching emergency services to the caller.
GIS
Geographic Information Systems is the technology used to develop the mapped display of Cameron County.
NEXT-GENERATION 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) Internet Protocol (IP)-based system that allows digital information (e.g., voice, photos, videos, text messages) to flow seamlessly from the public, through the 911 network, and on to emergency responders.
PHASE I
The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) mandate to the wireless telephone industry and 9-1-1 requiring the proper routing of wireless 9-1-1 calls to PSAPs and the provision of the callers’ ANI to the telecommunicators.
PHASE II
The feature that provides the geographic location of wireless callers, in addition to the FCC’s Phase I enhancements.
PSAP
Public Safety Answering Point is the location of the equipment used to answer 9-1-1 emergency calls.
SR
Selective Routing – The system that provides automatic routing of 9-1-1 calls based on the caller’s location to the appropriate PSAP. The caller is not required to determine which public safety agency to call.
VOIP
Voice over Internet Protocol – The technology that provides telephone services over computer networks. The service may not provide any or all of the features of E9-1-1. Subscribers should check with their vendor to determine the level of 9-1-1 services available.