BROKEN ARROW — Though his family was described as reclusive and quiet, one of the teenagers arrested and accused of stabbing to death his parents and several siblings had a virtual life centered on Internet memes, Star Wars and Linkin Park, and he once served as a student judge in juvenile court.
Robert Bever, 18, was identified as one of two suspects by Broken Arrow police on Thursday. The name of the other suspect, Bever’s 16-year-old brother, has not been released.
The deaths were described as stabbings, and police later released information that knives and a hatchet were found near the scene. In Robert Bever’s mugshot, it appears he may have some splattered blood on his face.
Police tape and vehicles surround the house where Broken Arrow police found five people stabbed to death late Wednesday. DYLAN GOFORTH/The Frontier
Killed were three juveniles, a 5-year-old girl, a 7-year-old boy and a 12-year-old boy, along with the two parents, 52-year-old David Bever and his wife, 44-year-old April Bever, BAPD Cpl. Leon Calhoun said.
A 2-year-old girl was found inside the house unharmed, he said.
The two suspects were found about 200 yards from the family’s home not long after Broken Arrow police responded late Wednesday to an open 911 call — when someone dials 911 but leaves the line open — and found the five dead bodies inside a home in the 900 block of North Magnolia Court.
The phone call, Calhoun said, was likely made by the suspects’ 13 year-old sister, who was attacked but not killed. She had surgery Thursday morning and was listed in serious condition.
Calhoun said arriving officers could hear the 13-year-old girl moaning inside the home and forced their way in.
The scene inside the home Wednesday night was so chaotic — three victims were immediately visible from the doorway, and two more were found inside the blood-covered interior — that responding officers pulled two dead bodies from the home and into the front yard, not knowing if those victims were alive or dead, Calhoun said.
“We don’t have many homicides here,” Calhoun said, noting he couldn’t even remember the last one the city’s police force had investigated. “To not just have five, but have them all in the same night is very troubling … that these boys were killing their family is horrific.”
What we know about the suspects
Robert Bever, according to a 2010 Tulsa World article, once served as a student judge during a juvenile trial in the Broken Arrow municipal court.
A Pinterest account in Robert Bever’s name had only three boards: One called “Funny Randomness,” where he posted a host of Internet memes, another called “My style,” where he posted pictures of a Ford Mustang, a Rolex watch, sunglasses and Harley Davidson leather boots.
The other board, called “Music I Like,” included pictures of the band Linkin Park, Jay Z, Kanye West and Eminem.
One quote pinned to his board states: “I don’t have awkward moments. I have an awkward life, occasionally interrupted by normalcy.”
“So true,” Robert Bever commented below the quote, from actor Robert Pattinson.
Another pin from a military website shows a door lock designed to look like the chamber of a gun.
“I am totally going to do this,” he commented.
Both April and Crystal Bever were active on Pinterest as well, pinning recipes, craft ideas and beauty tips. Crystal’s account features a “bucket list” board with aspirations such as “ride in a limo” and “experience Christmas in New York.”
No one in the neighborhood seemed to know much about the family. Most nearby homes were inaccessible, having been roped off by police, but those neighbors who did speak to the media said no one had much interaction with the nine people who lived in the house.
“They were very reclusive,” Julie Wallis said. Wallis lived two homes down from the Bevers, and on Thursday had a tray of cookies and drinks outside her home for police officers working in the oppressive heat.
As police officers wearing plastic bags over their shoes to avoid disturbing the bloody crime scene went in and out of the family’s home, golf carts buzzed not far away at The Club at Indian Springs.
“I know they weren’t members of the county club,” Wallis said. “I know they weren’t allowed to play with other kids … There’s probably only two people who know the full story right now.”
And it’s unclear if those two are talking to police. Calhoun said the two suspects were taken to the Broken Arrow city jail early Thursday before their eventual transport to the Tulsa Jail. However, he didn’t know how conversations between the two and detectives had progressed.
The other suspect, Robert Bever’s 16-year-old brother, was not identified by BAPD due to his status as a juvenile. April Bever has a Google+ account where she follows four family members, including her husband and Robert Bever, as well as Daniel Bever.
Daniel Bever claims to be a brown belt in karate on his account, and posted numerous links to music videos and clips from various video games.
What we know about the victims
Police have not yet released the names of the four juvenile victims, but did identify both parents.
April Bever once owned a business called “A Sign of Surprise,” that would place surprise stork signs for new babies or other objects, for a fee, in someone’s yard.
The website set up for that business no longer exists.
After the family’s youngest daughter, Autumn, was born premature and weighing less than two pounds, April set up a website called “Autumn Hope Inc., ” where she shared ways to help families who had given birth to premature babies.
Facebook photos indicate Autumn is likely the 2-year-old girl who was unharmed in the attack.
“Right as the doctor came in, Autumn decided to make her entrance into the world,” April Bever wrote on her website. “She was immediately grabbed by the team and they started frantically working on her. I went from being in incredible pain to being perfectly fine. I could not look at my husband because of the guilt and sadness of feeling like I could have caused our daughter to die. While they finished checking me out, the special team of doctors and nurses asked my husband if he would like to come take a picture of her. Time stood still for my husband, he said the biggest fear was the picture he was about to take was of our daughter that had passed away.”
David Bever. Courtesy photo
David Bever, 52, listed his employment as a technology consultant for HP Enterprise Services, where he had worked since 2012, according to his LinkedIn profile.
David Bever had numerous database certifications and had 18 years of experience as a database administrator and computer technician. Before becoming a consultant for HP Enterprise Services, David Bever worked for Samson Resources Corporation in Tulsa as a database administrator.
David Bever attended Oral Roberts University in 1980 and 1981, records show.
Co-workers at Samson lauded his reliability and ability to work well with others.
A manager at Samson, David Bagwell, wrote an endorsement of David Bever in 2012 that states: “David worked for me as a Senior DBA at Samson. He is a diligent worker as well as a good problem solver and troubleshooter. He can be relied upon to finish assignments quickly in a fast-paced and dynamic technical environment. In addition, he is able to work independently and is able to make appropriate decisions in the face of competing tasks and deadlines.”
Another former manager, Lisa Wolfe, said she hired Bever while at Samson as a database administrator. She said she didn’t know Bever well but described him as “a nice guy, quiet, kept to himself. I didn’t have any problem with him.”
