Cops still searching for answers in crazed naked teen’s alleged triple homicide
This is the moment a crazed Virginia teen went darting through his small town, completely naked, after slaughtering his mother, sister and baby nephew, cops said.
Matthew Bernard, 19, allegedly murdered his family members on Tuesday morning at their home in Keeling, Va., near the Virginia-North Carolina border, and then stripped down to his birthday suit and fled, according to police.
The victims were identified as the mother-in-law, wife and child of minor league pitcher Blake Bivens, who plays for the Tampa Bay Rays’ Double-A team, the Montgomery Biscuits.
His son was just 14 months old.
“Our hearts are broken for Blake,” said the Rays organization in a statement. “We are grieving with him and will support him any way we can.”
Bernard, who is also accused of killing the family dog, was captured on video running from cops after they caught up with him Tuesday afternoon. He was originally thought to be armed and dangerous after cops received the call about the murders. A local community college where Bernard attended classes was under lockdown as a result
The ABC affiliate WSET, of Lynchburg, Va., was setting up cameras at a media staging area in Keeling, outside the family’s home, when they caught Bernard running out of the woods without any clothes on.
“I saw a male, tall skinny male, with no clothes on running around,” a woman told reporters. “He took off running.”
Bernard can be seen attacking a church groundskeeper at one point as he attempts to avoid being captured by cops. The officers try to Mace and subdue him with the their batons, to no avail.
A police dog was eventually able to pounce on Bernard and hold him long enough to be handcuffed. He was later taken to a local hospital for treatment, though it’s unclear for what.
Cops were not able to say why the young man took his clothes off after the killings. A cousin of his told the Daily Mail that he was “suffering with mental illness and came to a breaking point.”
“What the public has seen was not him at all,” said cousin Jenn Stallard. “We would never imagine this could have happened.”
Stallard added, “As this is all still extremely fresh for our family, I remain cautious for our words not to be twisted nor our family’s name, including Matthew’s, not to be turmoiled any more than it already has. My main concern would just be pushing the fact that mental illness doesn’t have a type and awareness of help when needed.”
Bernard’s uncle, Bryant Bernard, said his nephew was a typical college student who went to church several times a week.
“In wildest dreams, I never could have imagined it,” he told reporters. “Not him. Of all the people in this world. I never could have imagined it.”
Additional reporting by Ben Feuerherd and Joshua Rhett Miller