Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Mom, baby and grandmother gunned in cold blood by perp who hides bloody clothes and weapons in woods.

Episode Date: September 26, 2019

Teen Matthew Bernard kills his mother, sister, nephew, and the family dog. The question remains as to why. Police are looking to data from a recovered cell phone for an explanation. Joining Nancy Grace today: Ken Belkin, NY criminal defense attorney; John Cardillo, Former NYPD; Dr. Caryn Stark, Psychologist; Dr. Michelle Dupree, Medical Examiner; reporter Levi Page Investigative Reporter Crime Online.com. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. believe someone had been shot. Two women and a child found dead in Pennsylvania County. This was a shock to our community, to anybody's community when something like this happens. And it's just a reminder of how fragile life is. Two of the victims are the wife and child of minor league baseball player Blake Bivens, according to ESPN. Bivens is with the Montgomery Biscuits, a part of the Tampa Bay Rays organization. Local media reported that the suspect, naked, attacked a groundskeeper at a Baptist church while on the run. I never dreamed nothing like this had ever happened to me and wished it hadn't happened. I'm not one to get involved in something like this. Authorities

say they placed three schools in the area on lockdown and about 100 officers from various agencies responded to the scene. They eventually captured the suspect and took him into custody. You're hearing our friend Craig Treadway at WPIX 11 News. What happened? How did a young mom, how did her baby and a third victim, a mother, a 62-year-old grandma, all end up dead. A young mother just 25 years old, a 14-month-old baby, Emily's baby, and the mother, Joan Bernard. It's overwhelming at the tragedy. It came to the forefront because Emily Bivens, 25 years old, is the wife of a double-A pitcher with the Rays, currently with the Montgomery Biscuits. His family slain in apparently a horror and rural setting in southern Virginia.

I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. It's almost too much to take in. This area reminds me of where I grew up in rural middle Georgia, not even in an incorporated city or town. It was out in unincorporated Bibb county as i recall there were only three homes only remotely close to ours on a an old red dirt road and this area reminds me of the rural nature of middle georgia where crime is especially violent crime is almost unheard of with me an all-star panel to break it down and put it back together again we're now lawyer ken belkin out of new york criminal defense attorney former nypd and let me tell you something he's been around the block a couple of times john cardillo psychologist from manhattan dr karen stark South Carolina medical examiner, author of Homicide Investigation Field Guide, Dr. Michelle Dupree.

Joining me right now, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter Levi Page. Levi, I don't understand how in this rural bucolic setting three murders go down. What happened? setting three murders go down what happened okay a neighbor nancy heard gunshots in the home near her and she called 9-1-1 and when police arrived to the home that is when they found three bodies along with the body of a dead dog inside this home with blood splatter everywhere. Oh, my stars. What can you tell me about the location, about where this took place? It is on the Virginia-North Carolina border in southern Virginia, Nancy,

a very small rural town like you had described. It's not a place where you expect a horror like this to occur, but it did occur here, and this community is reeling from it. Cops immediately come to the scene when they get word of shots fired. They have no reason to believe a family is all but nearly wiped out. A young mom, 25-year-old Emily Bivens, her baby, Cullen Bivens, just 14 months old. And Emily's mother, 62-year-old Joan Bernard, all gunned down. And now you're telling me, Levi Page, the dog was killed too? The family pet?

The dog was beaten to death and blood was all over this home, Nancy. It was quite the scene and probably a shock to the police officers that don't stumble across crime scenes like this on a daily basis. A right-handed pitcher, Bivens was picked by the Rays in the fourth round of 2014 first-year player draft out of Washington High School in Danville, Virginia. He married wife Emily 2016. Their little baby, Cullen Micah Bivens, turned one in June, just before he was murdered. Emily was a photographer and a devout Christian, according to her Facebook page.

I'm just thinking about when I had had the twins, when they were 14 months old, all the joy we had. You know, I took John David, my son, now 11, went on a scout trip this weekend. His dad went with him as a volunteer. And I took a chance, a very rare chance that I get to be alone with Lucy, my daughter, also 11. Of course, they're twins. And we drove and drove and drove and got to the foothills of the Appalachian Trail. And we walked around. We looked around. We just spent time being together. And she kept asking me about my childhood and what are my favorite memories.

But they all seemed to be wrapped up in raising her and John David. And I told her story after story after story of things they would do and how they would go on stroller walks and get three baths a day. And just the things I would slip into their bottles to make them healthy. Just all sorts of funny stories. All this was just starting for Emily Bivens. She was just starting with her 14-month-old with the most wonderful journey of a lifetime, raising her child. It just breaks my heart. Who would do such a thing? Take a listen to this. Our friends at WSLS10.

This is John Carlin and Brittany McGraw. Deputies have identified the suspect as 19-year-old Matthew Bernard. Family members say he killed his mother, his sister, and her one-year-old child. Deputies found their bodies at a home in the Keeling community. Pictures show the alleged suspect naked running past houses and a church before officers arrested him after an hours-long manhunt. Neighbors say they were frightened to see him running over to the church and choking a man before he was beaten with batons and arrested. About 100 officers responded to that chaotic scene and the manhunt sent at least nine schools into lockdown. Family members are among those with

a lot of the unanswered questions tonight. We don't know why the young man allegedly killed his family members or how it happened. You know, to Dr. Karen Stark,ard allegedly shot and killed three family members and bludgeoned the family dog dead what does that tell you about his mindset well he's psychotic nancy this is this is somebody wait a minute wait a minute you're going into warp four okay we're just regular people of course except for dr michelle dupree who is a doctor, the NYPD, and the criminal lawyer, Belkin and Cardillo. We're all on the same boat, okay? You and Dupree are the doctors. You've got to break that down.

What do you mean by psychotic? He's lost track with reality. He's delusional. He's not seeing the world the way we are, obviously. And he's a psychopath, so he has no problems with killing people. He's in an altered state. And you can tell, I mean, he was running around naked. It's not like you can see that there's anything that made sense.

And I can't imagine that he didn't get any signs that this was happening. I'm sure that there were indications that something was going wrong with this guy and people weren't paying attention. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. The uncle told 10 News the suspect is an all-around perfect kid, but he also says the teen expressed to his mother last week he was having bad dreams. A family torn to pieces. Investigators believe Matthew Bernard is responsible. His uncle says this is out of character for his nephew. Well, I love my nephew.

With snapped. I don't know. Something changed him over a quick period of time. Joan Bernard, daughter Emily Bivens and grandson Cullen Bivens. All three were shot and killed, but no one knows what led to the shootings. He expressed to his mother. Last week. That he was having bad dreams. And that he'd seen demons around his bed. And his uncle was told by the teen's dad he was troubled on the day of the killings. He woke up, yeah, he just, he said something to his mother that something's going on, it's got to stop today.

You're hearing our friends at WSLS 10. That was Arisha Jones with the suspect's uncle, Bryant Bernard. Back to Dr. Karen Stark, psychologist. Bad dreams does not insanity make. Although, if he says he sees demons around his bed, that would indicate visual hallucinations. That's right, Nancy. The kind of thing that I was mentioning was being delusional, a psychotic break, not being in touch with reality.

So it's not just bad dreams. He saw demons and she said that something was going on. It's very ominous sounding. And this doesn't sound like somebody who's just your everyday great kid, as his uncle was describing. This is a kid that was falling apart and losing touch with reality. Joining me right now, renowned medical examiner, Dr. Michelle Dupree. Joining me out of South Carolina, author of Homicide Investigation Field Guide. Dr. Dupree, is there a way to determine when you've got three dead victims, Joan Bernard, 62,

the grandmother, the young mother, Emily Bivens, 25, and her baby, Cullen Bivens, 14 months, and you've got a dog victim. Can you tell who was murdered first in order to try and recreate the scene? Yes, Nancy, we actually may be able to. We can look at the blood drying and determine which blood is dried first or dried the most. We can look at things like that. We can also look at the scene itself and see if there are any scene markers that may give that away. Wow. And to you, John Cardillo, former NYPD, why would it be important to determine the succession of the murders? Well, for several reasons. One could be motive,

right? That something about that particular victim trigger him. And it really could have been from the dog to the baby. You know, in addition to the family, maybe getting more attention than him. I will say one thing, just listening to the uncle, the hesitation, if I were interviewing the family, which they're going through exhaustive interviews of law enforcement at this point, I'd be reluctant at first pass to believe the uncle. I heard a lot of hesitation in his voice. I think he knew more than he was letting on. I think this kid had been troubled for a long time. The uncle to me seemed like he's traumatized. He lost a big chunk of his family, but he doesn't want to badmouth the kid. But I just wasn't convinced with his assertions that he was a

really good kid and this all came on very suddenly. So I'm with you and the doctor. I think there was probably a pattern here that the family either ignored or simply didn't act upon. Well, as a matter of fact, you may be right. Take a listen to our friends at WSLS 10. This is Shane Dwyer with Bryant Bernard, the relative. My daughter is a corporal in the sheriff's department. She called me and said, Dad, something's going on. You need to call your brother.

That phone call started the day that Bryant Bernard says he will never understand. By the end of it, his nephew, 19-year-old Matthew Bernard, was running from police naked and attacked a man in a church parking lot. In my wildest dreams, I never could imagine it. Not him. Of all the people in this world, I never could imagine it. Police do say he's charged with three counts of murder. Matthew's uncle says there are clues as to what happened.

He expressed to his mother last week that he was having bad dreams. Police won't confirm any of the details of their investigation, and Bernard's family says this man is not the Matthew that they know. This boy is a Christian. Went to church every Sunday, every Wednesday, every Sunday night. Taught youth groups. Just an all-around perfect kid, in my opinion. Well, wait a minute.

How is that possible to defense lawyer Ken Belkin joining us out of New York? If he was teaching Sunday school and youth groups and being coherent and showing up to appointments on time, how could he suddenly have become a psychopath, gone psychotic? The reality is, even though we may be doing these things, it's not mutually exclusive the fact that he might be engaged in psychotic behavior. And in this case, the murder of three people. But if you're teaching a youth group and you're showing up to appointments up until that day or up until the time, you know, the week or so leading up to it, how do you suddenly, there is no such thing as snap, as the uncle said.

Ken Belkin, there is no snap under the law. Snapped is a name of a show on Oxygen, my TV home. It is not a valid legal defense. No, it's not. But it can be mitigating. It can get a first degree murder charge down to a second degree murder charge, potentially a manslaughter charge, because they could say, look, he didn't intend to do this. There was no premeditation that this

was something he was acting under extreme stress and duress and something triggered him. And this is the reaction that it triggered. You know, another issue, Karen Stark keeps mentioning that he was naked, running naked. But what about this? Items of clothing, white T-shirt, blue sweatpants, Nike shoes, were located about an hour from the family home. A search warrant obtained revealed that the items were found a day after the murders. Did he get rid of the clothes because they were bloody? What about that? That shows a certain degree of intent.

Yeah, Levi Page, investigative reporter with CrimeOnline.com. Were those the clothes he was wearing during the murders we can presume that we also know nancy that the rifle that he used to shoot his victims was found in a wooded area outside the home and the sledgehammer that he used to beat the dog to death was found in the garage the sledgehammer covered in blood so he didn't hide the murder weapons very well. But he did hide them. That's the point. If he hid them at all, that shows that he knew what he was doing was wrong. That is a question for shrinks. But how did Bernard run from police to the extent he was able to attack a church groundskeeper.

Listen to our friend Brittany McGraw at WSLS 10. Well, plain and simple, state police say this trooper did what he was trained to do. You've seen these images reportedly showing Matthew Bernard naked and running from police through yards in a church parking lot. While you see this trooper here who trails behind him. Today, state police shared why this was handled the way it was. They say Matthew Bernard didn't have a weapon and was in obvious mental distress. In those situations state police say troopers are trained to first try to de-escalate the situation. They're

also trained to keep a safe distance from a suspect to prevent that person from grabbing any weapons the trooper has. They say the trooper did that and also used pepper spray and a baton during the incident. The trooper did what he was supposed to do by not allowing the suspect access to his rifle. That is the biggest, biggest concern, I think. This incident will be reviewed since troopers had to use force to arrest matthew bernard crime stories with nancy grace blake bivens began this week full of hope Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Blake Bivens began this week full of hope.

A minor league baseball prospect married to his high school sweetheart, Emily, and proud father of a 14-month-old son, Cullen. That's Emily's mother, Joan, in a family photo spanning three generations. But on Tuesday in Southern Virginia, all three were found murdered, allegedly by Emily's brother, who relatives say was battling mental health issues. In his deepest grief, Bivens last night posted this. My heart was turned to ash. My life as I knew it is destroyed. The pain my family and I feel is unbearable. I shake and tremble at the thought of our future without them. In a tribute to his wife,

Bivens wrote, your love and kindness changed countless lives. And to his son, I can't breathe without you here. I finally understood what love was when you were born, and I would have done anything for you. Bivens Minor League Club, the Montgomery Biscuits, canceled their games this week as investigators who met with Bivens scrambled to figure out why. Bivens ends his note, I'm not sure what is next for me, but I do know God has a plan, even though I can't see it. Wow, what unshakable faith. You're hearing CBS News reporter Jamie Ucas talking about the murders.

Right now, more questions than answers. A young teen charged with murdering his own mother, his own sister, his own baby nephew, just 14 months old. His sister, Emily, the wife tampa bay ray's pitching prospect police now revealing he injured his own head by hitting it against the police cruiser cage after they caught him on a naked foot chase now take a listen to what we learn from his uncle. This is WSLS 10 News. Shane Dwyer. Matthew Bernard's uncle. We spoke with him earlier today as this was all going down in Pennsylvania County.

They were a little bit of a distance back away from the house. That's when he says he saw his nephew get taken away in a line of police cars. As that line of police cars was going by, he locked eyes with his nephew through the cruiser window. He says that the eyes of that person that he saw in the backseat of that cruiser were not the eyes of the nephew that he knows, and he just did not understand what was going on. That was his body, but he says as he looked at them, that was not his nephew that was in the back of the car. He does not know what kind of headspace he was in this evening. So it is completely understandable to imagine all the grief that this family is going through, not only with the devastating loss of

their family members, but not understanding how something like this can happen. I don't understand it either because the teen suspect, Matthew Bernard, was a student at Danville Community College. No problems. Regularly attended church. He even taught youth groups. And then suddenly he commits mass murder to Levi Page, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. Had he dropped out of school or was he still in classes? He was still a student and apparently a good student and a regular in church. This entire family was a regular in church, Nancy.

So it doesn't seem like he had a bad childhood either. It seemed like he was brought up in a very wholesome, caring, close, tight-knit family. Well, I'm just wondering, could drugs account for this too? Dr. Karen Stark, psychologist, joining us. That's a possibility, Nancy, but I suspect that really it has to do more with mental illness. I think that, look, you can really be high functioning, go to classes and do all of that. But something was going on, and I don't think that the family was paying attention to what was happening with this guy. He saw demons. That's not your everyday wake up and say, I had a nightmare.

I want to go to Dr. Michelle Dupree, South Carolina medical examiner and author of Homicide Investigation Field Guide. Dr. Dupree, based on what you know of the injuries, the three victims sustained, the three human victims, Joan Bernard, Emily Bivens, and Cullen Bivens, the baby, did they die instantly or did they understand what was happening? Did they suffer? They probably did suffer a little bit. I don't believe that this was instantaneous. No, I don't think it was instantaneous. It's overwhelming to me what this family has gone through. Now, a relative has stated that the perp, Matthew Bernard, had been struggling with mental illness. A mugshot was made public by the county sheriff's office, and Bernard is dressed in an orange jumpsuit. His head, both his ears, and part of his throat in the photo are covered in gauze bandages.

There are scratches on his forehead. How did that happen to Levi Page, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter? Well, Nancy, the media had set up a staging area, and as they were setting it up, and this was actually caught on footage, this guy was in the woods, and he ran out of the woods butt naked. Just imagine this spectacle. And he was running through the woods. The police had a confrontation with him sledgehammer. And he went to a church and actually attacked, you know, a worker there that takes care of, you know, the grounds, the church grounds.

He attacked that and then the dogs actually subdue him so the police can arrest him, which is quite fitting. Well, we also know that apparently he banged his head against the cage inside the police vehicle at the time he was being arrested yeah he was then taken to the emergency room later transferred to an area hospital he was treated and released so they were not serious injuries he's now facing three counts of first degree murder use of a firearm during a felony That is how we first learned that he shot all of his victims. The motive, still unclear. More questions than answers right now. Take a listen to our friends over at WSLS 10.

This is news reporter Shane Dwyer. Matthew Bernard appeared in court this morning wearing a green jacket with handcuffs around his wrist, shackles around his ankles, and multiple sheriff's deputies surrounding him. This arraignment had been delayed multiple times before it finally happened today. It didn't last very long, only a few minutes, and Bernard only offered the words, yes sir, to the judge each time he asked him a direct question. Now that his lawyer is asking for a mental examination to see if Bernard is fit to stand for trial, and the Commonwealth did not object to that. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

The Sheriff's Office is not releasing a whole lot right now, citing the ongoing investigation. We did learn today, however, that Sheriff's deputies and members of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries were back out on Keeling Drive this afternoon where this incident took place yesterday. They were looking for evidence that they may have missed yesterday. 19 year old Matthew Bernard is charged with killing his mother, Joan Bernard, sister Emily Bivens and sisters. One year old boy Colin yesterday morning. Bernard was eventually captured naked shortly afternoon near his family's home where the murders happened. We still don't know why he murdered them and neither does the sheriff's office. It's also unclear why he was naked. According to Pennsylvania County Sheriff Mike Taylor, Matthew Bernard beat his head against the inside of the patrol car after being arrested and had to be taken to Roanoke for treatment. He was taken back to the jail here in Pennsylvania County early this morning and is now on suicide watch. We're hearing our friends at WSLS 10 reporter Colter Anstett. Still, we wonder at motive. To Levi Page, investigative reporter, at this point, has any motive been developed? No,

Nancy. However, law enforcement did say that the cell phone that was discarded in the front yard may contain evidence regarding motive. Maybe they can get into his phone, they got a search warrant for it, and see what he was googling, what he was looking up, what his Internet activity is. And maybe they can look at that and then piece together motive. To renowned attorney Ken Belkin joining us out of New York, criminal defense attorney. Ken Belkin, there's a big difference between incompetency to stand trial, insanity, mental defect. So right now the questions are going to be, first of all, is he competent to stand trial, which basically means do you have the wherewithal to help your lawyer? That's what incompetence means in this setting. The defense may very well be

insanity. Explain the difference between incompetency and insanity, Ken. Well, the difference is simple. Incompetency is really a pretrial issue. And what they're going to look at is, does this guy understand the nature of the proceedings against him, the potential consequences he might face, and can he render meaningful assistance to his defense counsel in proffering a defense in this case? Now, that's a pretrial concern. And if that's the case, if he is deemed incompetent, they will have to try and bring him

into competency. You will have to receive mental health treatment so that he can go forward and knowingly and intelligently assist in his defense. Now, as for insanity, that is the defense. That is the ultimate issue in the case. And to prove to proper and insanity defense, what you have to do is establish that at the time of the incident, that this person did not know that his actions were wrongful by cause of mental defect or disease. According to WSET-TV, they have found a criminal complaint from a neighbor of Bernard's who tells police that before she heard the gunshots coming from the victim's home, the suspect came to her home and punched her in the yard. She also reports that she found the body of Joan Bernard, the grandmother, in the driveway of the home.

It sounds like he went on a killing spree. So what does that tell you, Dr. Michelle Dupree, if one body was out in the driveway as far as how the murders went down? Nancy, the fact of one being in the driveway, somebody would have heard this first, whether it was the person in the driveway or whether it was victims in the house. The other people would have heard all of this coming on. And it also tells me they weren't all killed at the same time, because apparently the grandmother, Joan Bernard, must have been running from the home when she was murdered in the driveway, so they weren't all three killed at once.

Exactly. And again, that's just going to instill fear in the rest of those who heard all of this. You know, just trying to think this through regarding any potential motive. And again, Levi Page, still no idea about motive. Well, Nancy, I'm just reading some search warrants from his cell phone, and I just found out that state police investigator, and I'm reading from a search warrant, has searched social media sites and discovered a post from Matthew Bernard indicating that he was going through a divorce and to quote, never underestimate a Bernard. So he was going through a divorce at the time of these killings happened. It says, uh, state police investigator, Matthew Wade has searched social media sites and

discovered a post from Matthew Bernard indicating he was going through a divorce and to quote, never underestimate a Bernard. He made a post on social media with that caption. You know, I find that really hard to believe, Levi Page, because this is a teen that lives in this home, but court documents may very well reveal possible motive in a triple homicide last month, a triple homicide in Pennsylvania County. The teen charged in the murders of his mother, sister, and nephew has just been in court for an arraignment. He's officially charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of use of a firearm during commission of a felony, but according to court documents, his cell phone may contain information identifying a motive.

I'm looking at the affidavits right now, and that's exactly what it says. Information in the phone may contain information identifying a motive for the shootings. At the time he was apprehended, he was naked and not in possession of his phone. We have now found out it was in the front yard. Of course, Matthew Bernard, arrested after sheriffs, warn of a dangerous gunman on the loose upon finding the bodies of Joan Bernard, Cullen Bivens, a baby, and the mom, Emily Bivens. All this going down around 7.30 in the morning

to John Cardillo, former NYPD. You know, multiple murders typically do not happen first thing in the morning. Do you agree or disagree? No, I agree. Look, murders can happen any time of day, or I should say son-in-law is making it to the major leagues, but clearly the wife is going to gravitate toward a good guy because she had a good upbringing. Nothing about the case makes sense. We heard from the uncle.

They have law enforcement members in their family. Then I'm with you, Nancy, and that I'm not entirely convinced that this guy wasn't in a solid frame of mind. It looks to me like he did hide clothing again, just running on gut feeling here the way I would approach the investigation. He hid clothing he had. Very unusual to me is that he did the dog in a different way than he killed the people. So there was something else at work here. But there was there was a very cognitive way in which he went about murdering these people. And he used, by all accounts, a 30-30 rifle, typical old school lever action deer rifle. It's typically chambered in that cartridge

very powerful right it's made to take down good size game to shoot a 14 month old with that rifle it's a whole nother level of complexity to this case you know you're right uh they did find authorities found a white t-shirt blue sweatpants nike shoes one mile from the bernard's home where the murders took place, and they were hidden in a wooded area. They were found the next day. We've learned from police affidavits the clothing did appear to have red stains and what they believe were particles of human tissue on the clothes.

To me, getting rid of the bloody clothes shows intent that you knew what you did was wrong. We also know that they are looking at digital data contained within the cell phone, including voicemails, call history, electronic messages, social media activity, the historical cell phone location data. What more do we know videos pictures call logs text messages browser information digital storage all that information may lead to a motive and Levi was right state investigators have searched social media sites and found posts from Bernard indicating he was going through a divorce. It shows him holding his nephew.

Now, what is he talking about, going through a divorce? Right now, trying to make sense of it all. To Ken Belkin, New York criminal defense attorney, do you believe that he can be found mentally fit to stand trial just as to incompetence? Well, it's going to be an issue for the judge and they're going to have to figure out, does this guy understand the proceeding? Can you render meaningful assistance to his counsel during the proceeding? And the question is, at this early stage, no one really knows except for his defense counsel, who's probably been having very significant discussions with him. The more interesting question is whether or not they can successfully proper

an insanity defense in my opinion, because this set of facts seems to lend itself more to that sort of theory than any other set of facts I've seen recently. You know, this guy was a seemingly upstanding citizen, murdered three members of his family and a dog, and is running around naked and had reported hearing voices prior to this. He probably does suffer from some sort of severe mental illness, and it's well known that the onset of schizophrenia is usually late teens, early 20s. We wait as justice unfolds. Nancy Grace, Crime Stories, signing off. Goodbye, friend.