The Misery Machine - The Case of the Bever Family

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Bever family lived in the quiet suburbs of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, just 20 minutes southeast of Tulsa. Broken Arrow is considered an idyllic place for families to live, separated from the hustle and bustle of the inner city by a large golf course. David and April Beaver lived at 709 Magnolia Court in a five-bedroom white gambrel-style home that, according to neighbors, was very scary and had a sketchy vibe to it. The couple married in 1991 and at the time of our story in 2015, they had seven children. 18-year-old Robert, 16-year-old Michael, 13-year-old Crystal, 12-year-old Daniel, 7-year-old Christopher, 5-year-old Victoria, and 1-year-old Autumn. David worked from home as an IT consultant for HP Enterprise Services, having graduated from Oral Roberts University in the early 1980s with numerous database certifications.

Starting point is 00:00:57 April was a stay-at-home mom but had previously owned a business called a sign of surprise that Forafee would place a surprise stork sign in the yard of someone who recently had a baby. The Beaver family were devout Christians, attending services at several area churches in Tulsa. April and David would often talk with their children about people they hated and were referred to the biblical Armageddon as a retribution thing for everything they hated about the world. The Beaver parents were controlling of their kids. They had locks on all their doors and didn't allow them to play with other children or even interact with the neighbors. In fact, the Beaver family were such hermits that neighbors didn't even know their names

Starting point is 00:01:40 and believed April and David just had one child since they only ever saw a boy leaving and entering the house. The family never opened the blinds or windows and nobody outside was ever invited into the home, not even grandparents, aunts or uncles. David also had surveillance cameras installed all around the exterior of the house and spent hours monitoring them. The Beverage children briefly attended youth club and were once in a bowling league, but after that, they would go months without ever leaving the house. The only times they ventured into public was to buy groceries or vacation in Tennessee. Robert sometimes worked at a Christian call center.

Starting point is 00:02:20 Although she kept her kids hidden from others in real life, April had no issue with sharing stories. about her seven children on Reddit. Under the username, A. Oki Mom, I guess Anokey Mom was taken. In January 2015, she posted the following. I have seven children, and we have always lived on one income and never had any government assistance or needed it, as well as my kids do not do without. There are childless people who do not have this.

Starting point is 00:02:47 Life is about making good job or income choices and then making the best money choices based on your income, as well as I would never give up having any. of my children so I could have more money. They are amazing people, and the world will benefit by having them in it, and nothing I could buy or invest in could compare to giving a person a chance to have a life.

Starting point is 00:03:08 She also had a website dedicated to her youngest daughter, Autumn, who had been born prematurely. Website, which no longer exists, read, and I quote, Right as the doctor came in, Autumn decided to make her entrance into the world. She was immediately grabbed by the team, and they started frantically working on her. I went from being an incredible pain to being perfectly fine.

Starting point is 00:03:28 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, 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. April and David decided to homeschool their kids but didn't provide any opportunities to socialize with other children. Their involvement in their kids' education was so little that they expected them to teach themselves via the Internet and did not even realize that Michael was dyslexic. Michael had also been diagnosed with ADHD,

Starting point is 00:04:08 but the couple never bothered pursuing any counseling or medication for him. Furthermore, April fed herself and David balanced home-cooked meals while only allowing her children to eat peanut butter sandwiches and ramen noodles. She also punished the children for sneaking food from the pantry. When asked about his parents, Robert said they locked themselves away in their offices for the majority of the day. David was also a gambler and went to the casino every week. Robert was the only child to be educated outside the home. He briefly attended preschool at the age of three, but his parents pulled them out after he was molested. Robert also says his mom and dad never thought we were good enough and wanted us to be better.

Starting point is 00:04:50 Robert has claimed that his father was abusive. He testified that David threw a shoe at his face after he had accidentally tripped him up, pushed him and Michael on multiple occasions, and bullied Michael for having a speech impediment by shaking him and yelling, stop, and don't talk until you can speak clearly. Robert also said David once dragged him upstairs for leaving the light on, and April slapped him across the face so hard she left a mark. Crystal later stated that she heard her parents arguing one night, and it sounded like their dad had pushed their mom into a wall.

Starting point is 00:05:21 Robert did not get on well with his younger brother Daniel and was physically abusive to him. Young boy once needed stitches after Robert had attacked him. While he hated Daniel, Robert was very close with Michael. He shared a bedroom, Robert helped him with his schooling, and the pair had the same interests and hobbies. While they enjoyed knife collecting and trying on body armor, their biggest interest was mass killings. According to Crystal, Michael talked about his favorite serial killers at least once a day. In 2014, he also asked her, if she wanted to help Robert and him, kill the entire family.

Starting point is 00:05:58 Crystal told him no and went to tell their mom what Michael had said. April dismissed the situation as boys will be boys. While both brothers were fascinated by serial killers, Robert's obsession was on a whole other level. He despised humanity and his ambition in life was to become a serial killer. The Columbine shooters, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, were Robert's idols, and he aspired to one day carry out a mass killing and succeed the Columbine death toll. Robert admired serial killers so much because he believed killing more than one person would make him godlike. He also believed serial killers were doing a public service by ridding the world of people who had not contributed to society.

Starting point is 00:06:43 Robert kept a journal where he documented his fantasies of mass killing. He even created imaginary Robert Beaver serial killer characters who he described as hold-blooded and ruthless. Robert liked to put on his body armor and pretend he was the character in his journal. Despite having such a dark personality, Robert's online presence almost made him seem like a normal person. He had a Pinterest account with three boards, one called Funny Randomness, where he posted a host of internet memes.

Starting point is 00:07:14 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 Lincoln Park, JZ, Kanye West, and Eminem. One quote pinned to his board stated, I don't have awkward moments. I have an awkward life occasionally interrupted by normalcy. Another pin from a military website shows a door lock designed to look like the chamber of a gun,

Starting point is 00:07:40 he commented. I am totally going to do this. In a bid to achieve his sick dreams becoming a famous serial killer, Robert came up with a plan that would see him and his brother commit a very deadly mass killing. This plan for this mass murder was outlined on a thumb drive. Robert has claimed this plan was at first, not serious, and just something to make me feel better. However, his time went by, his fantasies of committing mass murder,

Starting point is 00:08:10 became so intense that he decided to act on them in real life. Sticking to his plan, Robert purchased a shotgun, two-glock pistols, 2,000 rounds of 45-caliber ammo, and 250 12-gauge shotgun shells. He would pick up the gun from a local gun shop and the ammo would be delivered to the Bever home on July 23rd. After that, the brothers would steal their parents' car, leave Oklahoma, and cruise through Washington State, killing as many people as possible.

Starting point is 00:08:39 For Robert, the plan was a way to make his twisted fantasies of becoming a famous mass killer or reality. Michael, on the other hand, claims he just went along for fear Robert would turn on him. He also told police that he wanted to practice driving so he could get his learner's permit. Robert altered the plan in the days leading up to the delivery of the ammo. He feared his parents or younger siblings would call the police as soon as the package arrived. Not wanting to take any chances, he decided he was going to kill his family before that. On the night of July 22nd, Robert said he flipped the switch from his true self to the evil alter ego he had been journaling about. David and the youngest Beaver children all went to bed like they did any other night.

Starting point is 00:09:24 April, Crystal, Michael, and Robert remained downstairs in the family room. April asked the brothers to do the dishes, and they got off and went upstairs to their bedroom instead. A while later, Crystal headed upstairs to bed. As she was passing her brother's room, she saw them putting on body armor and spotted numerous knives spread across the bed. The boy said they wanted to show Crystal something on their computer. When she entered the bedroom, Michael looked at Robert and asked, Should we do it right now? And Robert replied, yes, and came up behind his sister, slid her throat in a surprise attack.

Starting point is 00:10:02 He had initially planned for her to die quickly and then store her body in a closet, but Crystal miraculously was still alive. She fought back against her brother as he stabbed her multiple times. Crystal was able to get away from Robert and she ran screaming towards the front door. While running, she heard her mother scream. Robert had moved to a different target and was stabbing his mom in the arms, neck, face and chest, and abdomen. He did this 48 times as she prayed to God to save her.

Starting point is 00:10:32 Crystal ran outside the house but set off the home security alarm, letting her brothers know where she was. Michael dragged her back into the house and she laid on the floor in a pool of her own blood. The stab wounds inflicted on crystal were so severe that her internal organs were protruding out of her torso. David Bever was also killed around this time. He had come out of his room to see the commotion and Robert slit his throat and stabbed him to death 28 times in the back chest and neck and abdomen. Robert then asked Michael where the others were. He replied that they were hiding. After they heard screaming, Christopher and Victoria had locked themselves in the bathroom and Daniel had locked himself in his father's office.

Starting point is 00:11:14 At 11.30 p.m., Daniel used the office phone to call 911. He whispered, help to the dispatcher and said, my brother's attacking my family. The dispatcher's notes detailed the phone call, writing that there was a lot of screaming in the background and they could hear someone trying to be quiet and crying. And that a male voice said, hello, and then the line went dead. Michael had knocked in the door and begged for Daniel to let him in, saying that Robert was going to kill him. Daniel unlocked the door and Robert and Michael barged the way into the office. Michael grabbed the phone and smashed it to pieces. He then said to Robert, he's all yours, and Robert started stabbing Daniel repeatedly while he cried out for him to stop.

Starting point is 00:11:54 Daniel suffered 21 stab wounds to the stomach chest head, neck, and back. Using the same trick as before, Michael knocked on the bathroom door and pled with his little sibling, let me in, he's going to kill me. One of the children opened the door, and Michael immediately began stabbing both of them. Christopher was stabbed 21 times in the back chest, head and neck. Victoria was stabbed 23 times in her neck, back chest, face, and abdomen. They also had defensive wounds on their bodies.

Starting point is 00:12:22 Dispatch had tracked the location of the 911 call Daniel had made, and officers arrived within 10 minutes. Upon arrival, they found blood on the front porch. When they knocked on the door, a faint voice cried out, from inside. Officers forced entry and found crystal lying on the floor with multiple stab wounds. They dragged her out of the house and called for paramedics. After searching the entire house, they dragged out the other five family members, not even knowing if they were dead or alive. When officer described the Bever home as the bloodiest scene of his 15-year career in law enforcement,

Starting point is 00:12:56 they also found one-year-old Autumn fast asleep in her bed. She had slept through this entire rampage. was completely unharmed. While the brothers did intend to kill her by cutting her head off, they got so caught up in butchering their other family members that they completely forgot about her. Police recovered a hatchet and six bloody knives from the home. Both brothers had one 11-inch and one 15-inch hunting knife. Robert also had a pairing knife and Michael had a six-inch dagger. When paramedics arrived, Crystal was taken to St. Francis Hospital and was given life-saving surgery. autumn was taken into protective custody. When Crystal recovered, she was placed in the same foster home as her sister.

Starting point is 00:13:40 Michael and Robert had fled the scene, living behind some bloody footprints in the backyard. Police dogs tracked the brothers down within an hour, and been hiding out near a creek behind the Beaver House. Michael tried to run away but was bitten by a dog. Both were covered head to toe in dirt and blood. The killers were photographed by police while being apprehended. Robert smiled for the camera, his bloods, splattered face covered in scratches. Michael was emotionless and just stared blankly at the camera. His black shirt ripped so badly more than half of his torso was exposed. They also said to an

Starting point is 00:14:13 officer, I hope they're okay, talking about his family he had just killed. The brothers were taken into custody at 12, 18 a.m., where they were interviewed by the Broken Arrow police detectives. They admitted to everything, including how they had planned to film two videos right after the homicides. For the first video, they wanted to defythe. They wanted to defyced. They wanted to defyceding. They and mutilate their parents and young siblings' bodies and publish the video on the dark web. The second video was supposed to be G-rated and they would share graphic details of the murder and post it to YouTube. Neither brother showed remorse for their actions. They were completely calm and emotionless while interrogated by detectives, even laughing and joking at times.

Starting point is 00:14:53 Robert also told detectives how he had been thinking of killing his family since he was 13 years old. In his interview with police, Michael shared that Robert purchased their body armor, and ammunition on eBay, and his stockpile of guns from various retailers online who later shipped into an area gun store. Well, man, I'm, you know, I'm just kind of got thrown into this, so I was hoping maybe you could kind of just go back at the beginning when all this started and kind of tell me what happened, because I need, I need kind of the details so we know and understand what you went through and stuff.

Starting point is 00:15:27 Okay, thank you. The very stone. Mm-hmm. Okay, about it's like, uh, Two months ago. Okay. It was when we first, I got to start talking. So when you say we, who are you talking about? Yeah, my other Robert is also. Your brother? Yeah, who's he?

Starting point is 00:15:42 And what's his name? Robert. Robert? Okay, and how old was he? 18. Okay, all right, go ahead. Sorry. A couple months ago, I think we had talked to this guy, we started talking about road ruin, run on page, and stuff like that. Okay. But I'm going to take his serious later first, but then he started buying, like, a

Starting point is 00:16:02 Body armor and stuff. Where did he buy body armor from? eBay and Amazon. Oh, okay. Yeah, legal. Does he have a job? He did at Mike Tech. He quit the start ago.

Starting point is 00:16:15 Um, and basically it just kept escalating. He kept getting burned and he asked if I wanted in the USA, yes, so he got me my own set. Okay. And then about a month, about like June 30th, is when he came to me and said he found out of the he can legally buy guns without whom in Oklahoma. He could.

Starting point is 00:16:36 And that's why he started planning. And did you, you said he bought body armor, but you kind of said like a bunch of stuff, did he buy, what else did he buy besides body armor? Besides body armor, knives, and he was in the middle of buying guns and ammunition. I see, okay. Where did he buy the knives from?

Starting point is 00:16:57 Evated. Okay, can you tell me, like, how many knives, or what they looked like or anything like that? I think he had about the needle knives and did one small kempacks. Okay. And then the guns, where did you start buying guns from? He bought him online, I think the website's like Bud's Gun Shop,

Starting point is 00:17:20 and Tom, right? He bought two blocks, two block 41, and a shop, and a shotgun if here, it's like a mox food, I think. But the box stuff with website called Bud. called the Shabha, I think. Okay. And they bought the Moss, put it off with the official website, and they had him shipped to, like,

Starting point is 00:17:39 Yoke Naur Gun Club. So they were going, they were shipped to... To a gun shop. Yeah. Okay. Where is that gun shop, do you know? Um, he said seven miles away to play on biking up.

Starting point is 00:17:56 Okay. It's like, um, and I think it's nice to get them all. It's like, it can have a gun shop. Okay. And then you bought, it goes like 250 shotgun rounds on eBay, not eBay, but on some time. And then anything you bought close to a thousand rounds for the locks. Wow, okay.

Starting point is 00:18:16 And the... Oh, so he was supposed to have to pick those up? Yeah, they're supposed to be come up today. And where was he supposed to pick this? By the ammunition, he was being shipped to the house. It comes with your own shop. Okay. Do you know what his eBay user was?

Starting point is 00:18:40 No. I just didn't know if you'd ever been on eBay in shop or anything? I used to. I went to go and die, you know, not what we did stuff. Michael then shared that it was he that stabbed his brother Christopher to death. Who else was in the bathroom? I think Victoria might have been in that. I would put my boat.

Starting point is 00:18:59 Victoria? Yeah. my own foie-built system. Next, the officer asked Michael about his plans to not only kill his family, but in excess of 50 people. We're talking about the ammunition being delivered, making plans. Tell me about making plans and what you guys talked about. Making plans, we are plotted every night and I started the lives where I actually going to do this thing on the second night.

Starting point is 00:19:24 And so I started getting ready. When was that? You used to second night, what do you know? July first. Okay. That's when you started making the plan? Yeah, that's when you found out he could buy guns legally. I see. Did you guys make drawings or write things down?

Starting point is 00:19:39 I think he had the journal. I think he had to be. Under his bed. Under his bed? Is it like a journal? Like a notepad or a book? Yeah, it's like a blank book. Okay.

Starting point is 00:19:51 I think it's like a little case. So you think he wrote stuff in there? Yeah, I think he was planning it. Hmm. So then the second day you said that's when you realized that it might actually happen. What made you realize that? How serious he was. I mean, he was going through, you started, you started playing on taking all his money out his bank and throwing away stuff, feeling away all this stuff, so you know.

Starting point is 00:20:22 Why did he want to do it? Good. That killed people. Yeah. Well, mainly two reasons I think it's because he just like says he hates everyone he thinks society is pointless and so he wanted to kill people. And he also he wanted to like beat the kill like amount of other famous people like Colin Bonn and named James Egan Holmes. Okay. Did you kind of feel that way too like when you guys were talking earlier like it like do you have a problem with society? have a problem with society too you think? No, I just... Or you were just more like the number

Starting point is 00:21:01 of people getting killed was kind of interesting and exciting. Okay. So, because you mentioned a couple names of are those like serial killers or something? What, like Columbine? Yeah. I have a column by then James In Higgin-Holmes. James Higin-Holmes is a guy that shot at the theater. In Colorado? Yeah, he killed 12 and so. Wow. How many were killing Columbine? I'm like 15, I think. So did you guys have a goal? Do you have a number? He just wanted, I think he wanted to like 50.

Starting point is 00:21:36 Okay. So how, okay, so as the planning goes, tell me what plans you started making and coming up with? Well, originally, I think, kind of stayed and stayed throughout the month is so we want to kill everyone at the house first. Okay. then wait for all the packages to show up over the weekend.

Starting point is 00:21:59 And they would take the economy to have our state with the guns and a stove. Okay. Sproking. Did you know where you were going to drive to? Oh, it's Washington. Washington State. Washington State. Washington State.

Starting point is 00:22:11 Why would you go to Washington State? Just kind of... Yeah, it's kind of the connection. And you said Yukon, do your parents have, like, a Yukon? Is that what it is? Yeah. Okay. It's a lot of Shoeck so.

Starting point is 00:22:24 Does Robert have a driver's license? He has a little bit. Okay. So he would be able to drive it? Can you drive if you had to? No. Well, you can play video games, surely you can drive a car. It's not very well.

Starting point is 00:22:37 I mean, you could get it from point A to B. You might hit some things on the way, but, okay. So you had to plan. So then, so what happened after, I mean, tell me some more. Well, I think everything's done to fall. Everything starts to falling in place. The Kleenex, right there's a little lead. There's, yeah, claynacks right there.

Starting point is 00:22:59 There we go. Right, right, turn your finger out, huh? Yeah. But, um, back week above is when I fell out, start feeling way useless stuff. Okay. And so did he... Did you guys, like, give things away to friends or anything like that?

Starting point is 00:23:16 Did you go out of the trash? Did you show a lot of it still in the battles in the village? In the barrage? Yeah. What kind of stuff did you throw away? random stuff toys and stuff that was just piled up in my closet and he had the room to put the body armor oh I said all the shoes closed did you have how long have you had the body armor body armor Robert had his place and the story did he

Starting point is 00:23:39 been buying it well he's been buying it did and was it shipped to the house do your parents know I mean did they know it should he knew he had all the two vest they always thought there was a little wild but you know anything about it Did he have anything else like the gear that the guys wear helmets or goggles or gloves? Yeah, the soft, kind of a vest, a heavy, I don't know, it's like a metal-plated vest. Okay. He had a helmet, a bullet-pute de-a mask and all the lingoes. Wow.

Starting point is 00:24:12 Also like a knife-proof arm. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So yeah, it's a knife. And then your, the knife. The body armor that you had, what was it like?

Starting point is 00:24:25 It was almost identical. Okay. Just a couple different models or stuff. And where is your body armor now? Oh, my vests and my helmets. It was laying in the woods. The dog pulled it off of me. Oh, I was wearing it.

Starting point is 00:24:38 Oh, you were wearing it? Yeah, I was wearing the fest and the plate kind of so it took that. And the rest of my body arm was still in the closet. Okay. So then kind of what happened is, I mean, you guys started getting all that stuff together and trying to throwing things away.

Starting point is 00:24:52 away and we do with all the packages and the holsters out of those stuff who's going to get coffee masks on and so we set a date so was the plan to use the knives at first on the family because the guns weren't going to be here till later on yeah and then comes to be too loud oh I see so going to use the nice on the family which obviously did not go its plan yeah thank God yeah oh I just So the red so it's my head. Like, we didn't put one of the community. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:25:27 Did, um, so then you picked a date, you said? Yeah, which was yesterday, yesterday night. I was the date. Did you pick a time and everything? Yep, yeah, midnight when you were sitting, most of every one was in bed and set them all. So how did you guys know, he just came and got you, or you got him, or what you guys did?

Starting point is 00:25:46 We were hanging on the all bet to him waiting. Okay, and so... How did you pick the date? Um... They were involved in with packages and stuff would be help. Because all the ammunition, he didn't want them to see that. So he killed him the day before the ammunition got held the day after we didn't leave. Do you guys, do you guys not like your mom and dad?

Starting point is 00:26:05 I mean, most teenagers don't like their parents, so I can understand that. Yeah, I mean, mom's okay, but that was a little bit, you know. Just a little bit too much. Yes. The killer brothers were then transferred to the Tulsa County Jail and held without bond. The pair appeared in court together for a preliminary hearing on February 23, 2016. They were allowed to sit beside each other and cameras caught them laughing and joking with one another. On June 17, 2016, Robert tried to self-cancel in his cell using a bed sheet.

Starting point is 00:26:40 Medical staff cut the sheet and saved his life, but he was uninjured and put on watch. Michael spent his time in the Tulsa County Jail drawing in his notebook, doodling pictures that police described as morbid and violent. In his journal, Michael names James Holmes, who massacred cinema goers in Colorado and cult leader Jim Jones as his hero. He included disturbing drawings of stick figure people trapped in burning buildings being beheaded by a guillotine and getting hit by a large truck. Additionally, there is a page featuring hate symbols and slogans, as well as a number of dead. dead stick figures. The notebook also contains a short story about how he and his brother decided to murder their family, and it goes, once upon a time, there were brothers named Michael and Robert. They hated their family, so they killed them. The end.

Starting point is 00:27:31 Robert and Michael Beaver were charged with five counts of first-degree homicide as well as aggravated assault and battery with a deadly weapon. They were both tried as adults. Robert's trial began in June of 2016 and ended in September of that same year. He pled not guilty, but the judge offered him 10 days to change his plea to avoid the death penalty. Robert changed his plea to guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. After the trial, Robert's defense attorney, Mark Henriksen, told Fox News, our client will probably have an easier life in the penitentiary than he had at home. Michael Beaver's trial began on May 4, 2018, and lasted over three months.

Starting point is 00:28:10 His plea was not guilty, and his defense attorney argued that he was manipulated and coerced by Robert into killing his family. Robert was on the witness stand and took responsibility for all the deaths. The only jurors that he had never even seen his brother holding a knife. Forensic tests, however, revealed Michael's clothing was soaked in his mother's blood, and that the blade of his knife contained the blood of David, Christopher, and Victoria. Michael later confessed to the courtroom that he had killed Christopher in Victoria. He was seen crying and shaking when the prosecution played the 911 one dispatch call Daniel had made while being stabbed to death. Broken Air 911.

Starting point is 00:28:55 Hello? Hi. Hi, where are you at? Bill got out, Oklahoma 7-411. What address? 7-9-Magnol-A-Colec. Okay. Are you the only one there?

Starting point is 00:29:09 No. My dad is attacking my family. Your dad is attacking your family? No, my daughter. No. Okay. Who's attacking your family? family?

Starting point is 00:29:21 Who's attacking your family? Yes. Who is it? Do they hear you? Hi, what's going on there? What's going on there? Hello? Hello?

Starting point is 00:30:08 Robert also broke down in tears when shown a photograph of the bloody knife he used to murder his family. He addressed the jury saying, that's a lot of blood. I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. A judge sentenced Michael Bevere to five life terms in prison to run consecutively. He appealed his sentence saying it was a violation of his Sixth and Eighth Amendment rights to the United States Constitution because the jury had decided he was not irreparably corrupt and permanently incorrigible, which means they believe he can be rehabilitated. Michael also said the sentence is too excessive for a 16-year-old and does not provide him a meaningful opportunity for release.

Starting point is 00:30:48 His appeal was rejected by the courts and he will continue to serve five consecutive life terms. Both trials were emotionally unbearable for jurors, and tissues had to be passed around as people couldn't stop crying when crime scene photos were displayed. Even a veteran crime scene investigator who had been involved in over 15,000 murder cases ran out of the courtroom when a photograph appeared on screen of 7-year-old Christopher and 5-year-old Victoria huddled in a bathroom corner. Their pajamas in the floor beneath them covered in blood. Robert Beaver's defense attorney filed a motion to limit emotion and remembrance of the victims in the courtroom. Robert Bever is imprisoned at the Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington, Oklahoma. When he arrived, he was diagnosed with major depressive disorder with psychotic features in PTSD. Doctors also suspected he had autism, schizophrenia, and borderline personality disorder, but never gave him an official diagnosis.

Starting point is 00:31:47 In 2019, he acquired an 8-inch-long shank and tried to attack two prison staff workers. He came up from behind the same way he attacked Crystal. Fortunately, another employee tackled him before he could harm anybody and security arrived and restrained him. No charges were brought against Robert. The attack was simply put on his record as misconduct, coded as, inmate on staff assault without serious injury. while in prison Robert decided to get one tattoo on each knuckle.

Starting point is 00:32:22 One hand says LWOP times five, which stands for Life Without Parole Times Five. His other hand reads, life. Michael Beaver is incarcerated at the Lexington Correctional Center. Some people have criticized Michael's sentence feeling he shouldn't have been tried as an adult due to his age and also felt he was being largely manipulated by his brother. Do you feel that the court should have shown him leniency, or does he deserve the life sentence or more due to the horrific acts he committed? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section down below.

Starting point is 00:32:59 On August 6, 2015, a memorial service was held in honor of the Bever family at the Indian Springs Baptist Church. Hundreds of neighbors showed up to pray, sing hymns, and mourn the murdered family. Broken Arrow Mayor Craig Thurman was also in attendance. Autumn turned two a month after the killing. of her parents and three siblings. She celebrated her birthday in the hospital with Crystal and their foster mother who later adopted both of them. Crystal went on to become a sophomore in high school and participate in cross-country. Despite having limited previous education, she achieved good grades. The Beaver family home was abandoned after the murders. March 18th, 2017, the house was set

Starting point is 00:33:38 ablaze by arsonists. Flames engulfed the home and completely destroyed the second floor. Firefighters were called at 3 a.m. and it took hours to put out the fire. A month later, a barely standing house sold for $50,000. The new owner demolished the property and turned the site into a memorial garden for the deceased family. The garden which features a gazebo, several benches, and a pathway is named Reflection Park. Since this opening in March of 2019, residents of Broken Arrow have had mixed feelings about it. Some wish the lot could have remained empty after the house was demolished or a new house built in its place as the park

Starting point is 00:34:16 served as a constant reminder of the horrific events that occurred. Other residents, however, are happy about Reflection Park. One neighbor who lives directly behind the park told reporters that he thinks it's an awesome and beautiful tribute. Regardless, neighbors were relieved that 709 Magnolia Court is no longer in sight. No public information has been released regarding the Bever family's funeral and final resting place. However, since they were Christians, we can assume it was a religious ceremony that probably

Starting point is 00:34:45 took place at the Indian Springs Baptist Church, same church where the memorial service was held. The Bevers had extended family who were likely in attendance, as well as the community that came and paid their respects. We don't know if Crystal was able to attend as she was in the hospital recovering for months after the murder. The murder of the Beaver family was one that people say they never saw coming. It was completely senseless and unthinkable in every sense of the words. It is impossible to truly understand exactly why these two wanted to cut short the lives of their own flesh and blood, not just their parents, but of their young siblings as well. But we do know that David, April, Daniel, Christopher, and Victoria would be forever missed by those

Starting point is 00:35:31 who love them.

The Misery Machine - The Case of the Bever Family

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