Robert And Michael Bever Murder 5 Family Members

Robert And Michael Bever are a pair of brothers who would murder five members of their family in Oklahoma

According to court documents Robert And Michael Bever wanted to become infamous and were planning on a mass shooting that would reach the level of the Columbine massacre. However they decided to start with their own family in Broken Arrow Oklahoma

Robert and Michael Bever would fatally stab their parents David Bever, 52, and April Bever, 44 before stabbing their siblings Daniel Bever, 12, Christopher Bever, 7, and Victoria Bever, 5, who would die from their injuries. A fourth sibling was stabbed but thankfully they would survive their injuries. A 2 year old was unharmed during the brutal attack

Robert and Michael Bever would be arrested an charged with five counts of murder and one count of attempted murder

Robert Bever who was eighteen years old at the time of the Broken Arrow massacre would be ultimately sentenced to five life sentences without parole for the murders and one life sentence with the chance of parole for the attempted murder

Michael Bever who was sixteen years old at the time of the murders would be sentenced to five life sentences with the chance of parole for the murders and a twenty eight year prison sentence for the attempted murder

Robert Bever Current Information

Gender: Male

Race: White

Height: 5 ft 10 in

Weight: 132 lbs

Hair Color: Brown

Eye Color: Hazel

OK DOC#: 748422

Birth Date: 9/17/1996

Current Facility: OKLAHOMA STATE PENITENTIARY

Reception Date: 9/29/2016

Michael Bever Current Information

Gender: Male

Race: White

Height: 5 ft 8 in

Weight: 132 lbs

Hair Color: Brown

Eye Color: Blue

Alias: Michael Bever

OK DOC#: 793381

Birth Date: 11/4/1998

Current Facility: LEXINGTON CORRECTIONAL CENTER

Reception Date: 8/20/2018

Robert And Michael Bever Case

“I think that it’s evil to try to justify what I did,” Robert Bever told NewsChannel 8 about the slayings of five family members at their Broken Arrow home in July 2015, when he was 18.

Bever is incarcerated at Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Oklahoma, in the maximum-security unit. In 2016, he pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree murder and one count of assault and battery with intent to kill. He will spend the rest of his life in prison.

In August 2018, his brother Michael, who was 16 when the killings occurred, was sentenced to five consecutive life terms and will remain behind bars for life.

Parents David and April Bever, along with their children Daniel, 12; Christopher, 7; and Victoria, 5, were stabbed to death. A 13-year-old sister survived the attack, and a 2-year-old sibling was unharmed.

Investigators credit the actions taken by Daniel Bever and the 13-year-old girl with preventing the brothers from carrying out plans for further violence.

During Michael Bever’s trial, investigators presented evidence showing the teens had stockpiled weapons and planned a wider killing spree. Police said the brothers intended to continue their attacks beyond the family home.

In a recorded interview, Michael Bever told detectives, “We wanted to kill everyone in the house first, then take the Yukon and drive out of state with the guns.”

The case remains one of Oklahoma’s most heinous crimes, and even a decade later, many questions linger despite both brothers’ convictions.

NewsChannel 8 was granted exclusive access to a one-on-one interview with Bever, aiming to better understand why the crime occurred and what warning signs might prevent future tragedies.

“I have to take responsibility for what I did,” Bever told NewsChannel 8’s Brenna Rose in his first on-camera interview. “There are people out in the world who deserve the peace of mind of hating me and calling me evil.”

Part one of the interview will air on NewsChannel 8 on Monday, Nov. 10, at 6 p.m.

A clear motive for the slayings has never been revealed, although investigators said the brothers “idolized serial killers.”

Neighbors recalled the children were homeschooled and rarely seen outside.

“I think they were very secluded, and we didn’t really find a reason for that,” said Broken Arrow Police Detective Eric Bentz, who interviewed the Bever brothers the night of the killings in 2015. Bentz described the brothers as “pure evil.”

“I think it’s important that the community see what this story is,” said District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler. “If the truth seekers don’t share the truth and don’t bring out the most difficult things that society recoils from, then evil does continue to march.”

There has been significant public interest in the surviving sisters and how they are doing, but they have chosen not to speak publicly about the attack. NewsChannel 8 reached out to the family through an attorney, who said they declined to comment.

“I think it’s important that the community see what this story is,” said District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler. “If the truth seekers don’t share the truth and don’t bring out the most difficult things that society recoils from, then evil does continue to march.”

Brother convicted in Oklahoma family massacre speaks exclusively for the first time

Robert And Michael Bever Video

Robert and Michael Bever: Inside the Broken Arrow Family Murders 

Robert Bever was born September 17, 1996. Michael Bever was born November 4, 1998. Both were homeschooled in Broken Arrow and lived at 709 Magnolia Court with their parents David (52) and April (44), and five younger siblings. 

Neighbors described the Bever children as almost invisible. The family kept to themselves, the kids were rarely seen playing outside, and some neighbors only learned their full names after the medical examiner released them. 

Robert worked briefly at a religious call center. According to investigators, he used that income not for independence, but to fund the plot — buying knives, body armor, helmets, and tactical gear online for months. 

Both brothers later told detectives they felt isolated and angry, with Robert claiming his parents were physically and verbally abusive and obsessed with apocalyptic ideas. No independent evidence of abuse was ever confirmed in court, but the defense used it to argue for mitigation. 

The Motive: Not Anger, But Infamy

This is what separates the Bever case from most familicides. The motive was not money or a custody dispute. It was notoriety.

Investigators established the motive as a “desire for fame and to outdo historical mass murders” with plans to perpetrate a mass shooting after murdering their family. 

Robert confessed in detail:

• He and Michael had planned the killings for months.
• They wanted their attack to rival and even surpass the 1999 Columbine High School massacre and the 2012 Aurora theater shooting.
• Their ultimate goal was a body count of at least 50 people, with Robert privately hoping for up to 500.
• They planned to dismember their family, hide the bodies in storage bins in the attic, steal the family car, and then kill five random people at multiple locations across the country. 

They also planned to film everything. Police found wireless cameras positioned in the home. Robert said they intended to make two videos: one with the bodies for police, and a second, edited version without bodies to post online for fame. 

The Arsenal They Built

Inside the home, detectives recovered far more than kitchen knives:

• Multiple knives, a hatchet, darts, and a surgical blade
• A bulletproof vest, neck protector, black mask, shin guards
• Computers, cellphones, and surveillance cameras
• A flash drive containing their plans, which one brother spontaneously mentioned during arrest 

Most chillingly, a shipment of 3,000 rounds of ammunition was scheduled to arrive at the house on July 23 — the day after the murders. Had Daniel Bever not called 911, the second phase of their plan may have begun. 

Timeline: The Night of the Broken Arrow Murders

∼11:30 PM, July 22, 2015: 12-year-old Daniel Bever called 911 from inside 709 Magnolia Court, whispering that his brother was attacking the family. Dispatchers heard screaming and a male voice before the line went dead. 

Police tracked the address and arrived within minutes. They found blood on the porch. Inside, they heard a faint voice calling for help.

Officers forced entry and found 13-year-old Crystal Bever bleeding from multiple stab wounds. She had been lured to a bedroom, had her throat slit, and was stabbed in the stomach and arms. 

As they cleared the house, they found Daniel dead in his room — he had been ambushed while still on the phone. Four other family members were also dead. Two-year-old Autumn Bever was found alive and unharmed upstairs, apparently overlooked. 

The brothers had fled out the back door into a wooded area behind the property.

The Victims of the Bever Family Massacre

The Tulsa County Medical Examiner determined all five died from “multiple sharp force injuries” between late July 22 and early July 23. 

Killed:

• David Bever, 52 (father) — at least 28 stab wounds to torso, face, neck, and arm
• April Bever, 44 (mother) — blunt-force trauma and more than 48 wounds to head, neck, torso
• Daniel Bever, 12 — 21 stab wounds to back, shoulder, and chest. His 911 call saved his sisters
• Christopher Bever, 7 — 21 stab wounds
• Victoria Bever, 5 — 23 stab wounds 

Survived:

• Crystal Bever, 13 — throat slit, stabbed in stomach and arms. She underwent emergency surgery and was placed in serious but stable condition
• Autumn Bever, 2 — physically unharmed 

How Crystal Bever Became the Key Witness

Crystal not only survived, she identified her attackers immediately from her hospital bed. She told investigators that Robert and Michael lured victims one by one by pretending one brother was being attacked, then ambushed them.

Her testimony was critical because it destroyed any claim of intruders. It also provided the emotional core of Michael’s later trial, where she testified against her own brother.

Both surviving girls were placed in state custody and later adopted out of state, with their identities protected.

The Arrest

At 12:18 AM on July 23, less than an hour after the 911 call, a K9 unit found Robert and Michael hiding under a bush in the woods behind their home. Robert was still armed with a knife at the time of arrest. 

They were taken into custody without incident and charged with five counts of first-degree murder and one count of assault and battery with intent to kill.

Legal Proceedings and Sentences

The case moved quickly because of Robert’s confession.

Robert Bever:
Initially pleaded not guilty, but on September 7, 2016, he pleaded guilty to all counts. He received six consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. After attempting to attack two prison officers with a sharpened instrument at Joseph Harp Correctional Center in 2019, he received three additional life terms in 2020, bringing his total to nine life sentences. 

Michael Bever:
Because he was 16 at the time, he could not face the death penalty under Oklahoma law, but prosecutors charged him as an adult. His trial began April 16, 2018. On May 9, 2018, a jury found him guilty on all counts. On August 9, 2018, he was sentenced to five consecutive life sentences with the possibility of parole — but only after serving 85% of each term, effectively 225 years plus 28 years, meaning parole is functionally impossible. 

Neither brother has ever apologized.

Where Are Robert and Michael Bever Now?

As of 2026:

• Robert Davis Bever is housed at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary, a maximum-security facility in McAlester. He is classified as serving life without parole.
• Michael John Bever is housed at Lexington Correctional Center in Lexington, Oklahoma. 

Both remain frequent subjects of true crime documentaries, including Oxygen’s “Killer Siblings: Bever” and HLN’s “Lies, Crimes & Video.”

The Psychology: Why True Crime Audiences Can’t Look Away

Criminologists often compare the Bever brothers to the Menendez brothers, but the psychology is different. The Menendez case involved alleged abuse and inheritance. The Bever case is a textbook example of “thrill killing for notoriety” and the Columbine Effect.

Three factors stand out for SEO and research:

1. Homeschool isolation: Limited peer socialization can amplify online radicalization, especially when combined with a fascination with serial killers.
2. Co-offending siblings: Robert was the dominant planner, Michael the follower. Robert later testified they “acted together but in our own ways.”
3. Media contagion: The explicit goal to outdo Columbine shows how mass shooting infamy can inspire copycat fantasies in vulnerable youth. 

The House, the Fire, and Reflection Park

After the murders, 709 Magnolia Court sat vacant and gutted to the studs due to biohazard cleanup. It became a magnet for dark tourism, ghost hunters, and vandals, with locals calling it “Broken Arrow’s Amityville Horror House.” 

In 2017, the City of Broken Arrow raised funds to purchase the property. Before demolition, the house was destroyed by fire on March 18, 2017. The lot was cleared and on March 27, 2019, it was dedicated as Reflection Park — the Bever Family-First Responders Memorial Park, a quiet grassy knoll with a walking path where the home once stood.