The man who killed the wife, young son, and mother-in-law of a Tampa Bay Rays pitching prospect is the brother of the pitcher’s wife. Police say Mathew Bernard, 19, murdered his sister Emily, who is the wife of 24-year-old pitcher Blake Bivens.
Also killed were Blake’s son Cullen, and Emily’s mother, 62-year-old Joan Bernard.
The bodies were discovered in a home in southern Virginia on Tuesday. Bivens learned of his family’s massacre just hours before he was due to pitch in a double header. After killing his sister’s family, Bernard stripped naked and streaked through the neighborhood.
He was arrested and charged with three counts of first-degree murder. The family described Bernard as a devout Christian and “all-round perfect kid”, but he suffered from an undisclosed mental illness.
