Michael Bever is the younger of two brothers who, on the night of July 22, 2015, stabbed to death their parents and three of their younger siblings inside the family’s home in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. He was 16 at the time. Tried as an adult, he was convicted on five counts of first-degree murder and one count of assault and battery with intent to kill, and he is serving five consecutive life sentences with the possibility of parole, plus 28 years, at the Lexington Correctional Center.
What Happened the Night of the Murders
David and April Bever lived with their seven homeschooled children at 709 Magnolia Court in Broken Arrow, a suburb of Tulsa. Neighbors rarely saw the children outside. Former Broken Arrow Police Chief Brandon Berryhill later described a “near-total absence of outside interaction” within the household.1KTUL. Inside the Bever Brothers’ Deadly Plan
Around 11:30 p.m., April Bever sent 13-year-old Crystal to tell her brothers to do the dishes. Crystal walked into their bedroom and found Robert and Michael wearing body armor, with knives laid out. Robert slashed her throat, and both brothers stabbed her repeatedly before she managed to crawl away. The brothers then killed their mother. When seven-year-old Christopher and five-year-old Victoria locked themselves in a bathroom, Michael called out, “Let me in. He’s gonna kill me,” and both children were stabbed to death once the door opened.2Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. Bever v. State, F-2018-870 Michael used the same trick to get 12-year-old Daniel to unlock an office door, where Robert stabbed him. Before he died, Daniel used Michael’s phone to call 911, telling the dispatcher, “My brother’s attacking my family.”3KTUL. 10 Years Since Bever Family Murders Their father was killed when he came out of his room.
Captain Brandon Tener of the Broken Arrow Police Department reached the house first, kicked in the front door, and found Crystal about eight to ten feet inside with a trail of blood behind her. She identified her brothers as the attackers.3KTUL. 10 Years Since Bever Family Murders Officers found the 23-month-old sister, Autumn, asleep and unharmed above the garage.4FOX 23. 10 Years Since Bever Family Murders in Broken Arrow Robert and Michael were caught at a nearby creek with the help of a tracking dog.
Michael’s Role and What He Told Police
Investigators uncovered evidence that the murders were meant to be only the opening act of a planned cross-country killing spree. Robert described a plan to dismember the victims, store them in attic bins, and use the family’s vehicle, firearms, and more than 2,000 rounds of ammunition to carry out random mass killings, with a stated goal of at least ten people at each stop and at least fifty total. Detective Rhianna Russell said the brothers “wanted to be famous,” “wanted a Wikipedia page,” and “wanted media coverage.” Detective Eric Bentz testified that they idolized serial killers and wanted to outdo Columbine and the Aurora theater shooting.5CBS News. Brothers Who Killed Family Planned Mass Killings, Wanted Fame
Michael’s own account was more equivocal. He told detectives he had not taken the plan seriously at first but that “it kept escalating,” and he claimed Robert had threatened to kill him if he refused to take part. Asked whether he had wanted fame, Michael answered, “Well, Robert did. I just wanted my learner’s permit.” But he also admitted stabbing his mother and his brother Christopher, and he told police Christopher was “just a number” whose death seemed “pointless.”6News On 6. Michael Bever Interview Tape Played in Tulsa Courtroom
Tried as an Adult at 16
Because Michael was 16 when the murders occurred, whether he could be tried as an adult had to be settled before anything else. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the state law that allowed 15-, 16-, and 17-year-olds charged with first-degree murder to be tried as adults, and found it constitutional as applied to Michael.7News On 6. Appeals Court: Younger Bever Brother to Be Tried as Adult
Jury selection began April 16, 2018, in Tulsa County District Court before Judge Sharon Holmes. District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler led the prosecution with assistant district attorneys Julie Doss and Sarah McAmis. Public defenders Corbin Brewster and Marny Hill represented Michael.8FindLaw. Bever v. State, F-2018-870
The Evidence Against Him
Prosecutors played Michael’s videotaped confession, in which he acknowledged stabbing his mother and Christopher. Forensic evidence tied him directly to the killings: his blood was on a knife handle, and the blade held a mixture of blood matching his father and brothers.8FindLaw. Bever v. State, F-2018-870 His mother’s blood was on the shirt he was wearing when arrested.9Public Radio Tulsa. Bever Found Guilty Crime scene investigator Karen Weikel testified that Michael had blood on his hands, shirt, and pants.10OKCFOX. Jurors See Boxes of Sealed Evidence, Knives in Day 6 of Testimony in Bever Trial Prosecutors called him a “willing participant” in the killings.11Public Radio Tulsa. Jury Recommends Life With Parole for Michael Bever
The defense’s central argument was that Robert had led Michael astray. Robert testified that he wanted to “take real responsibility” and claimed he had not seen Michael kill anyone.12KJRH. Emotional Day of Testimony as Robert Bever Takes the Stand On cross-examination, however, Robert conceded that Michael had known about the plans in advance and had tricked three siblings into opening locked doors during the attack.9Public Radio Tulsa. Bever Found Guilty The appellate court later noted that Robert’s testimony had been “frequently at odds with the State’s evidence.”2Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. Bever v. State, F-2018-870
The defense also argued that police and prosecutors had mishandled evidence, including cell phones, computers, a journal, and hard drives allegedly collected but never properly logged. Prosecutor Sarah McAmis called the claim a “smoke screen,” pointing to “five butchered bodies, an eyewitness and full confessions.”13News On 6. Bever Attorney Accuses Prosecutors of Mishandling Evidence
Judge Holmes excluded the guilt-phase testimony of clinical psychologist Dr. Ana Mazur-Mosiewicz. In a May 2016 neuropsychological evaluation, she found Michael had an IQ of 85, in the low range of average intelligence, with possible cognitive dysfunction from a birth defect or traumatic brain injury.2Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. Bever v. State, F-2018-870 Because she could not say whether those deficits prevented Michael from forming the intent to kill, the judge ruled her testimony irrelevant to guilt. She was permitted to testify at sentencing, telling jurors that because Michael’s brain had not fully matured at 16, it was “very likely” he would have “frozen in place” and not known how to act during the attack.8FindLaw. Bever v. State, F-2018-870
The Verdict and the Incorrigibility Finding
On May 9, 2018, after more than five hours of deliberation, the jury found Michael Bever guilty on all six counts.9Public Radio Tulsa. Bever Found Guilty The jury specifically found that Michael was “not irreparably corrupt and permanently incorrigible,” the determination U.S. Supreme Court precedent requires before imposing the harshest sentences on juvenile offenders.2Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. Bever v. State, F-2018-870 It recommended life with the possibility of parole on each murder count and 28 years for the assault.11Public Radio Tulsa. Jury Recommends Life With Parole for Michael Bever
Sentence: Life With Parole, Stacked
Judge Holmes ordered all six sentences to run consecutively. Under Oklahoma law, each life sentence is estimated at 45 years, and the state’s 85-percent rule requires inmates to serve 85 percent of their sentence before parole eligibility. Stacked, the effective total exceeds 200 years.14KTUL. Michael Bever Life Without Parole Sentence to Run Consecutively
The Appeal and the Eighth Amendment Question
Michael appealed to the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. His attorneys argued that stacking the sentences amounted to a de facto sentence of life without parole, violating the Eighth Amendment because the jury had found he was not permanently incorrigible. They also challenged the exclusion of Dr. Mazur-Mosiewicz’s guilt-phase testimony, raised prosecutorial misconduct claims over the missing evidence, and argued the aggregate sentence was excessive.8FindLaw. Bever v. State, F-2018-870
On June 25, 2020, the court affirmed the judgment and sentence in full. Citing its earlier decision in Martinez v. State, it held that the Eighth Amendment requires each individual sentence to be analyzed separately rather than looking at the cumulative effect of consecutive terms. Because each life sentence individually carried the possibility of parole, the court found Michael retained a “meaningful opportunity to obtain release,” and it held the jury’s incorrigibility finding did not strip the trial judge of discretion to run the sentences consecutively.2Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. Bever v. State, F-2018-870 The court rejected every other claim.8FindLaw. Bever v. State, F-2018-870
That reasoning has drawn criticism. In the underlying Martinez decision, Presiding Judge David B. Lewis dissented, arguing that refusing to consider the aggregate effect of consecutive sentences let the state effectively impose life without parole on juveniles without the finding of permanent incorrigibility required by the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Miller v. Alabama.15FindLaw. Martinez v. State, PC-2017-322
Where He Is Now
Michael Bever is incarcerated at the Lexington Correctional Center in Oklahoma. Under the stacked structure of his sentence and the state’s 85-percent rule, parole eligibility on the full package remains generations away, even though each individual life count technically carries the possibility of release.